Undercover
by abstract0118
Summary: CAPTAINHILL FANFIC! Written in first person from Maria's perspective, contains the Avengers, including Coulson, and describes how she denies her feelings for Steve, even though they are obviously there. The story is much better than my summary and contains some of Hills mysterious backstory! Civil War starts on chapter 28/29 if you want to skip. SWEARING INCLUDED!
1. Undercover

**Hope you like my new story :) The start bit may be a bit smutty, but the rest is less! :P**

"Target is entering the restaurant." Clint said. Me and, the one and only, Captain America were in the VIP section of a top class restaurant, awaiting a HYDRA agent to exchange a plan for a new HYDRA base in New York. We had been given an anonymous tip, which turned out to be a very helpful one because the target had now shown up.

"His eyes are scanning the room and are nearly over to you."

"Kiss me." I said and he looked at me in surprise.

"I'm sorry?" He asked and I rolled my eyes. I put my hand on the back of his head and nearly yanked his lips to mine. There were no plates to get in the way of our exchange because we hadn't ordered. We even told the waiters and waitresses not to come to us. His lips were soft and untouched, but when he eventually decided to kiss me back, he seemed to be more experienced than I thought. We kissed for several seconds and I thought that the agent would've stopped scanning the crowds but Clint hadn't said anything. Steve's left hand cupped my cheek and our kisses got deeper and deeper.

"Mr. Redmond." I heard the agent say over comms and I pulled away.

"Clint you asshole. Why didn't you tell us he had stopped looking?" I asked quietly.

I heard him giggle quietly and say "Sorry, it was just too funny seeing Cap under pressure. Also, you two make a cute couple." We are not a couple.

"You are a dickhead, Hawk." I replied, glaring at the vent on the ceiling. I could practically see Steve say the word "language" in his mind at me.

It looked like I was talking to Steve about the rise in economy from anyone else's perspective, but I was actually listening to the exchange going on between the HYDRA agent and one of our SHIELD agents posing as HYDRA, who was called Matthew Jones. I had the better viewpoint of their table, so I looked at Steve talked.

"Do you have the plans?" The 'HYDRA' agent asked.

"Here." He replied and handed over a scroll to out agent.

"I'm guessing that all the relevant information is in here?"

"Yes." He replied and our agent was about to get up, but was stopped by the man. Had we been found out? I thought as Steve continued to fake conversation.

"There are two S.H.I.E.L.D agents sitting at table 13." Shit. "Agent Maria Hill and Captain America, aka. Steve Rogers. I suggest that we conclude this as a business deal and get out of here via the back kitchen entrance."

"Stay calm and keep looking at Rogers. Once they've gone, I'll signal for you to intercept at back door." Clint said through the comms. The SHEILD agent nodded, obviously improvising with the situation they had.

"I've told the chefs to make a fuss about them using that exit." Clint reported as they walked over to the doors of the kitchen.

"Go now!" He shouted and we quickly ran out of the restaurant, him slightly faster than me due to his super solider serum. We didn't take any bags or coats to make our mission easier. No heels either.

We ran our and round the corner to the back door. Steve was on one side of the door and me on the other. He ran out, pushed past me and knocked me sideways. Steve made a run for him, but I got him first. I tazed him and he went crashing to the ground. The fake HYDRA agent checked on him.

"A taser?" Steve asked. "Do you always carry a taser on you?"

"Have you ever heard of Darcy Lewis?" I asked, but before he could answer, someone landed on the ground, holding a wire that was attached to the roof.

"Nice work Hill." Clint said, smiling at the knocked out body on the floor. "I'll call Fury." He said and went to join the other SHIELD agent.

I turned to Steve. "Good job, Steve." I smiled, putting the taser back into my holster.

"Thank you. You too."

"The kiss wasn't too bad either you know." I mentioned and he blushed. I laughed slightly, patted him on the back and walked off. "See you back at base." I shouted over my shoulder and got into the car at the end of the valley.

"Don't we get a lift?" Clint asked, over him comms once I was in the car.

"Can't you just fly over here, Hawk?"

"Haha. Very funny." Clint deadpanned. "You're a twat, you know that?"

"Language." Steve said, right before saying "Dammit!"

"Totally becoming a catch phrase Cap." I commented before taking the earpiece out of my ear and placing it in my bag next to me. I left it in the car, because who knows when you need to run out of a restaurant and you've used up all 17 of your guns. It's happened before.

I arrived at new Avengers facility and scanned my finger on the glass door. Tony's company was now running the old Avengers Tower (previously known as Stark Tower) and the new one was accommodating all of the Avengers, original and new.

"Welcome Agent Hill." JARVIS greeted me. His manners were just as good as Steve's. "How was your mission?"

"Tiring, but I left the boys there to walk their way home so that cheered me up a bit."

"I'm afriad your hypothesis isn't correct Miss Hill. The boys are already in the living room." JARVIS replied as I stepped into the elevator.

"How did they get here so fast?" I asked, curiously. Does Clint really know how to fly now?

"Thor and Vision were sent over to give them a lift Miss Hill."

"Sent over by whom?"

"By me." a voice came over the speaker system in the lift.

"Rogers. I hate you."

"I hope not, because i've made you food."

I raised my eyebrows. "Food? What kind of food?"

"Hot food."

"What kind of hot food?"

"Waffles with golden syrup." I paused for a couple of seconds before whispering "Damn you Rogers."

The lift doors opened and Steve was standing there, plate of waffles in hand. "Why do you have to be so God damn charming?" I asked, mainly to myself, but he started to answer it anyway.

"Well I don't think charming is the right-"

"The question was rhetorical Rogers." I said, going over to the kichen area and grabbing a fork. The Avengers living room was a red colour, dimmed lighting and had amazing technology. There was one long window on the right side of the room, which showed the entire exterior grounds of the facility, but the blinds were down because it was now nighttime. Outside of the windows, was a balcony which I often sat on to obvserve the training areas. Also on the right hand side was a big flat screen television next to the elevator that was surrounded by sofas and beanbags with a coffee table as a centre piece. The kitchen was on the left side of the room, along with the doors that led to the private Avengers training areas and the private rooms of all the Avengers.

"Ah right." he answered, which pulled me out of my thoughts of how magnificent the room was.

"So how are you going to spend your evening then Rogers?" I asked, getting a glass of water from the tap to wash down the sickly, yet moreish, taste of golden syrup and waffles.

"I think I might spend it in the gym."

"Do you ever get out of that gym apart from missions? You do three things - missions, eat and training. I've never even seen you sleep."

"I've slept for seventy years ma'am. No need for any more."

"Everyone needs sleep. Even if you've had a lifetime of it. Spend the next lifetime having an equal amount of sleep and activity. That way you get the best of both worlds." I said, sitting down on the sofa nearest to the window. "Blinds up." I ordered and JARVIS lifted up the blinds, allowing the moon to shine through the windows.

"I do sleep." he argued, sitting next to me.

"How much sleep do you get each night?"

"It depends on the mission."

"On average."

"It also depends on the night." he said and I could tell that he said it absentmindedly.

"What do you mean that it 'depends on the night'?" I asked and he turned his head to face me.

"It doesn't matter." he said, shaking his head and sipping some of his drink, which he must've made while I was sitting down and sorting out the blinds.

"Of course it matters. Now tell me what you mean."

He breathed out heavily and placed his drink on the coffee table. "Sometimes...I get...these nightmares."

"Bucky?" I asked, thinking of the first thing that could come into my head. He nodded slowly. "You can't blame yourself."

He waved his hand. "I've had that lecture enough from too many people. I don't need another."

"I'm sorry." I said, sipping from my glass again, giving me something to do. We sat in silence for a couple of minutes before he asked. "So how many hours do you get?"

"I'm sorry?" I said, this time from confusion. What does he mean?

"How many hours of sleep do you get a night?" he asked, firing the same question back.

"I asked first."

He nodded. "Okay...with or without nightmares."

"Both." I responded.

"So...without nightmares I get about 4 hours. With...I only get about an hour at the most." I placed my hand on his shoulder and stroked it, trying to show some sort of sympathy. I wasn't very good at this sort of thing. I trained people, I didn't pity them or look after them. I am a trainer.

"What about you?" he asked as I withdrew my hand.

"Me? I get about 2 tops with nightmares and 5 tops without, but sometimes I can't get out of my nightmares." He chuckled and I asked "What?"

"You are complaining about me not getting any sleep when you hardly get any yourself." he said and I couldn't really argue.

"I can function on five hours. I have to function on five hours." I said, without thinking. I stopped myself and slumped against the sofa.

"Tell me what you mean by that." he said softly and I decided to take a shot and open up to him. You never know. It might help.

"I'm Assistant Director. I have to be there almost 24/8." I said and I think he got that reference, because he laughed slightly. "I need to be there to protect them, just like you do." I said and sat back up to get a drink.

"I know." he said and we both leant against the back of the sofa again. We sat there for a couple of minutes, looking out at the grounds and the moon, thinking about how we both got here. "This is not how I expected my night to go." he said, humour in his words.

"Yeah, mine neither." I said. "You tired?" I asked.

He shook his head and then turned it to me. "Are you?"

I nodded and said "I'll leave you to beat the punchbags to death." He laughed at my comment and I got up, taking the empty glasses with me. I put them in the sink, as well as the waffle plate, and made my way over to the private dorms, but just before I touched the door handle, Steve said "Hey Hill?"

I turned round and said "Yeah, what is it? If you are going to ask me to train with you then it is going to be a no."

He chuckled and then said "No, it's not that. I just wanted to say thank you. For that little pep talk."

"You're welcome. If you want to do it again then just let me know."

"I will." he said, with that little innocent American smile of his and I opened the door. As I walked down the corridor, to my room, I looked at all of the doors as I went through. They all had circles respresenting the people that were in the different rooms. It was a long corridor. A very long corridor. There was a green fist, just incase a certain green man decided to come crawling back to us, a bow and arrow, a Black Widow symbol, an American shield, red mist, a hammer, Stark's arc reactor, a set of wings, a gun, an ant, because we were expecting Scott Lang to arrive any day soon, a gem stone and then at the very end a white crystal, representing 'The cold heart of Agent Chill' in Starks words. I didn't care, but it was little disrespectful of him, but then again when is Stark not like that?

I scanned my thumb print and entered the huge palace that was my room. There was a big glass table in the centre, with about 12 sockets, which were nearly all filled with the different appliances that I use. There were two doors on one side of the room, containing my wardrobe and my bathroom, and then my bed on the other side. I chucked my bag on the floor and got changed into my playsuit pyjamas.

I got into bed and said "JARVIS, lights off."

"Of course ma'am." he said and followed my orders.

"Oh and JARVIS?"

"Yes, Miss Hill."

"Tell Rogers to stop killing punchbags. They might be getting a little tired of being beaten up."

 **Please review!**


	2. Nightmares

**Previously:**

 **I got into bed and said "JARVIS, lights off."**

 **"Of course ma'am." he said and followed my orders.**

 **"Oh and JARVIS?"**

 **"Yes, Miss Hill."**

 **"Tell Rogers to stop killing punchbags. They might be getting a little tired of being beaten up."**

I woke up to the sound of my own heavy breathing and the feeling of cold sweat dripping down my face from my forehead. There was a large bang at the door and I scrambled backwards to the headboard of the bed, grabbing the gun under my pillow as I did. "Don't hurt me!" I screamed. "Get away. I'm armed." Whoever the intruder was, I wanted them to leave me on peace. I haven't done anything.

"Ria?" I heard a quiet masculine voice ask.

"Clint?" I said and slowly lowered my gun as he stepped into the light.

"It's okay. No ones gonna hurt you." He said, holding his hands up and walking towards me.

"I'm safe?" I asked, shakily returning the gun under my pillow.

"Safe." He nodded and sat on my bed. He held out his hand and I took it, pulling myself forward to hug him. Clint always made me feel safe. He is like the brother that I never had and he is the only person apart from Natasha that I would trust with my life.

"Did my screaming wake anyone?" I asked, returning to reality.

"Natasha might be awake. ASL and all." He said, smirking.

"Assassins Sleep Lightly." I smirked.

"Something to live by."

"Indeed it is."

"I didn't see anyone else wake up in the corridor than them. Vision doesn't sleep, so he might have heard you. I came running."

"You always do." I smiled.

He pulled back to look at my face. He placed a loose strand of hair behind my ear and whispered "go and take a shower okay?"

I nodded and he got up, giving me room to get out of the covers. I looked through the peephole and saw three people in the corridor. I went to the bathroom as Clint opened the dooor and told Vision, Natasha and Steve that everything was alright and I was okay. Maybe he had to tell them that I had nightmares, but hopefully he didn't.

I read the bathroom clock. 4:57. For god sakes, I've got to stop waking like that. I have only been in the tower for a couple of days and this is the first time I have had a nightmare here. The other times were on the helicarrier, where I basically slept twenty four seven anyway. Clint or Natasha always came for me, sometimes even Coulson. I would also trust him with my life, but he was a father to me, not a sibling. As I got into the shower, I thought about how we were always such a good team, not just in the field.

 **Flashback**

"No way!" Coulson complained, throwing his cards down on the table.

"Sorry, but you know what you got into. I told you that I've been playing this since a kid." I said, smiling.

"Fucking rummy." Clint complained.

"I need another drink." Natasha said and got up. "Anyone else want one?"

"Shot." Clint said.

"Shot." Phil said.

"Water." I said.

"Water?" They all asked at the same time.

"You're having water when we're meant to be having a good time?" Clint asked.

"You can have a good time with water. Water fights, log flumes." I started.

"Electrocuting enemies." Natasha said, pouring out the shots.

"You just love thinking about death don't you!" Clint said, his words slightly slurred from the drink he had. He was always such a lightweight.

"It's my speciality." She said, smiling.

"But really no drink?" Coulson asked. "Wait you're not..."

"Not what?"

"Pregnant?"

I raised my eyebrows. "You're joking? When would I have time for a relationship."

"The question is, when wouldn't you have time for a relationship ship?"

"I'm a S.H.I.E.L.D agent. Relationships and S.H.I.E.L.D don't mix. Someone will end up getting killed."

"Hey, doesn't Coulson have a wife?" Clint asked.

"Yeah...so..." I argued.

"I have time for a relationship." Coulson said. "So you should too! Promise that you'll find someone?"

"Fine...I'll find a man...when you meet captain America."

"But that's never."

"Well I'll never have a relationship then." I said, smiling. "Now...another round?"

They smiled as I dealed out the cards. "I'm gonna beat your ass hill." Clint said, collecting each card as I handed it out. It was one of his habits.

"I hope your hungry Barton, because you're going to eat those words." I said, smiling, as the others groaned.

"Such a bad joke." Natasha said, downing a shot.

 **Present day**

As I brushed out the remaining conditioner in my hair, I noticed the line of marks from where I had been abused as a child. That's what my nightmares are always filled with. I imagine everything the same apart from being saved by Fury, back when he did missions, and Coulson.

 **15 years ago**

I lay on my bed, brain scrambled from the years that I had spent here. I guessed it was three or four but I couldn't tell. There were scratches on the wall from where I had tried to bang against the wall and scrape them, begging any God to allow an escape route.

I heard a crash from outside and I stood up quickly, every muscle in my body aching from beatings and training. The noises got closer and closer, the gun fire getting closer and closer. I pulled my shackles, that were attached to the wall, trying to get loose, but as always it never worked. The people, whoever they were, were right outside my door. I stopped resisting knowing that I was going to be killed, and stepped backwards so I was against the wall.

Suddenly, there was a large gun firing against my door and I screamed, curling up in a ball to stop it from hitting me.

When the gunfire stopped, the door was pushed open by a large man, wearing an eyepatch, and a skinny fellow, who looked like he needed to be wrapped up in cotton wool.

"Hello." The skinny man said. "What's your name?"

"Tell me yours first." I insisted.

"Well, she's trained well sir." He said impressed by my skills. I liked this man. The other one seemed too serious.

"We are here to take you away from here." The bigger man explained. "My name is Deputy Director Nicholas Fury. We are part of an innitiative called S.H.I.E.L.D. You may have heard of us."

There was more shouting in the background as I answered "no." My answer made the thinner man chuckle and the other one looked curiously at me.

"We need to get you to safety." He said, gesturing for me to come over.

I shook my head and the older man seemed to reach into his left jacket pocket. The thinner one stopped him and said "Let me talk to her."

The older one looked between me and the man and then nodded. He stepped outside and shot a couple of people that were part of this facility.

The thinner one slowly stepped towards me, cautiously, but he and I both knew that I would not attack him. He crouched down, coming to my eye level, and smiled slightly.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Agent Phil Coulson."

"Who are you really?" I asked, hoping he would get my drift. I said "Who are you to me? Just incase he didn't.

"To put it in simple terms, I'm your rescuer. Now, we need to get you out of here quickly, but I am not resorting to drugging you and dragging you. So please cooperate. I don't want to see you hurt."

"Why should you care?" I asked him, slowly getting to my feet.

"I don't like abusive people and I can see that they have abused you." He said, gesturing to my thighs and stomach. I was only wearing some cheap underwear that i wore, unless I was being punished of course. That was even more degrading. It made me want to throw up the way they treated me. It wasn't just me. There were others too.

"What's happened to the others in the facility?"

"I don't know that information, but we really need to get out of here." He said, his voice straining with urgency.

"One more question...why should I go with you?" I asked, linked with his eyes.

I heard a snapping noise and looked down at my wrists. I didn't realise that he had unlocked off my shakels. I looked back up at him and he answered "because anywhere is better than here."

 **A couple of hours after being found.**

I opened my eyes and saw Coulson sitting there with a man, who had blondish hair, sunglasses and a suit like Mr. coulsons on.

"What happened?" I asked them, sitting up on what looked like a medical chair. We had dirty versions of these at the facility.

"We got you out. You collapsed on the way out so I had to carry you." Phil explained. "The facility has been closed down."

"What about the others?"

"I'm afraid they died in the mission to save you. You're the last one."

"And who are you to say that? I don't even know who you are." I practically shouted.

He looked a bit taken back by my reaction but continued anyway. "My name is Clint. Clint Barton. I tried to save one of the girls at the facility after all the guards were taken down."

"Which one?" That's all the information that I picked up on in they sentence. He did seem sweet.

"She had dark brown hair. I remember seeing a tattoo of a black cross on her shoulder."

"That is Olivia." I said and then changed my wording. "That was Olivia."

"I'm sorry for your loss." He said, smiling sadly, and I nodded my head. She was the one who always told me that there would be an end to the training at some point. She was the optimist of the group.

"Are you comfortable to come to the questioning room or do you need more time? We understand if you do." I was starting to like Clint.

"No, I'm okay. Whatever you need, I'll talk." I said.

"Okay. Let's get you to questioning then." Coulson said, reaching out to touch my arm. What's he doing?

"DON'T!" I shouted and pulled away before he could touch me. I took a breath and said "please don't touch me."

He nodded and just gestured for me to follow Clint who was half way out of the door. Clint announce when we arrived at the questioning room. It was surprisingly light and my eyes took a minute to adjust to the setting. Fury was on one side of the table and there were three chairs on the other.

"Great." I said. "It's Deputy Director Grumpy."

Coulson and Clint chuckled slightly but Furys face didn't move. I sat down in between the two chairs and asked "Would I be able to have some more space please?" The agents looked of the deputy director and he nodded, allowing them to move their chairs about a metre away from me, still underneath the huge desk that I was sitting at.

"Now the facility that you were trained at...do you know who the staff were?"

"We were never given their names...they were either trainers or punishes."

"Okay. And what was involved with those two areas?"

"Training is most of the day - cardio, strength, killing techniques, efficiency in killing. Stuff like that. Punishment was..." I cleared your throat. "Punishment was much more...abusive."

"What do you mean abusive?" Clint asked, anger bleeding through his words.

"Sexually and physically." I said casually. "They used knives, whips and punches to beat us with physically and then sexually...well I think you can guess. Just about everything in the book."

Clint punched his fist into the wall in frustration and was breathing very heavily.

"Barton, get out." Fury said simply and he nodded, quickly opening the door and closing it.

"Now...can you remember anything about your facility? Anything?" Coulson asked.

"It was called the white room. It had a twin."

"The red room?" Fury asked.

"You know it?'

"We are currently tracking someone there." He said, obviously not giving away any more information than that.

"Before we finish this questioning, I wanted to ask for your name." He said, getting a pen.

"Maria. Maria hill." I answered. Liar. I told myself.

 **Present day**

"Have they all gone?" I asked Clint, finishing drying myself off with a towel.

"Yes. Steve was tough to persuade, but they all left eventually."

"Good." I said, wrapping a towel around myself. I opened the door and said "I'll see you at breakfast in a couple of hours."

"You okay Ria? You seem a bit upset?" He asked. I looked at my eyes. I saw as well as felt the tears clouding them up.

"I'm good." I replied and he left the room.

"Okay." He said and I knew he would bring it up later. As soon as he left, I fell on my bed and burst into tears, crying quietly so no one would interrupt.


	3. Front cover

After about a minute of crying into my pillow, I heard a knock at the door and I gasped at the unexpected interruption. My head snapped up to look at it, wishing that I had X-ray vision, so that I would be able to see who it was that was knocking. Realising that my cheeks were still wet, I wiped them against the pillow and went to check them in the mirror.

There was another knock at the door and I said, with fake happiness "Give me a minute." My cheeks were red and my eyes were even more so. Blood shot eyes were not attractive and did not make a very convincing joyous person. I huffed, knowing that I wouldn't be able to change how I look, and went over to the door. I delicately placed my head on the side and asked "Who is there?" quietly, so I would not disturb anyone else.

"It's me. Steve." He said from behind the door.

"You finally went to sleep after demolishing those punching bags?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Not exactly." He said. What does he mean?

I was about to ask what he meant by that, but a better question came to my mind. "What do you want?" I asked, in my best 'trying not to be rude' voice.

"I just wanted to check if you were okay?" Steve was always so sweet and very leader like. He definitely had the skills to be the leader of the Avengers. He made sure everyone was okay and stayed trustworthy and loyal - the perfect qualities needed to be that leader. He could give you order without them feeling like orders, almost as if it was something that you wanted to do. Almost.

"I'm fine Steve." I replied, still keeping my voice at a minimum volume.

"You don't sound it. What happened?"

"It was nothing."

"Barton explained." Steve said. What?

"What do you mean he explained?" I asked, worrying that he did tell Vision, Nat and, more importantly, Steve the news that I had nightmares. I'm such a stupid little girl.

"Your fear is justifiable."

"My fear?" What's he talking about?

"Yeah, Barton said you had a fear of spiders and that's why you screamed."

"Um...yeah...I mean...yeah that's what happened." I said, rushing my groups of words.

"Are you sure that's what you were upset about?" He asked, not really believing. Game face, Maria.

"Yeah, that's exactly what happened. There was a huge one at the foot of the bed and I screamed so loudly. Clinton got rid of it for me though, so it was all sorted."

"Okay." He replied and I couldn't tell whether he did believe me or not.

"So...goodnight Steve."

"I'm going to the gym, so I won't be going to bed."

"You need to relax soldier boy."

He chuckled and whispered "good night Maria." I heard him walk away and I rolled my head, so my forehead was against the door. I missed his company more than anything. Something to keep the horrors at bay. Clint, Coulson and Fury remind me of it sometimes. Just their faces bring me back to when I was saved and interrogated. Then Natasha went through the same training, so her presence and when she trains or fights, it always reminds me of the white room.

She was injected with the serum unlike me. They would've injected me, but they never got round to me. I was not the best at the facility. The serum that I was meant to have been injected with was more advanced that the Red Rooms. It could allow the subject to fly, have super strength, increased speed and other modifying features. It was much worse than Natasha's and Steve's serum. It is like a mixture of Vision, Natasha, Steve and Quicksilver.

Steve was the only one that was close to me, the one I could get along with easily and the one that didn't know about my past, almost like a clean slate. He was my clean state and oblivious to my blood soaked past. My fresh start. He's the one person who actually takes away the pain instead of inflicting it.

I decided that the thoughts in my brain were getting way too deep for this early hour in the morning, so I decided to go back to sleep. I switched off all my lights and got into my bed, only to fall asleep after 3 minutes and forgetting the fact that I was crying before Steve came to my door.

I woke up once again, but this time it was without the drips of sweat across my body and the sound of heavy breathing. Even though I was shaking slightly, it was because of the open window and the fact that my hair, wet from the shower, was pressed against my neck and shoulders from lying down.

I sat up, grabbing a hair band from the bedside table as I did, and swung my legs round the side of the bed, my feet only just landing on the cold metal floor. My toes curled slightly at the cool surface of the tiles, but my feet adjusted to the lower temperature. I stretched the hair band in my hand and quickly tied up my damp hair, the wet wisps of it striking my hands. I finished the ponytail, tightened it and sighed.

I glanced at the clock, which read 6:30, and walked over to my closet. I changed out of my pyjamas and into some super skinny jeans, a checkered vest top and a standard grey S.H.I.E.L.D hoodie that I zipped up halfway.

I looked at my 'ice cold' face, as Stark described it, and sighed. If you could describe me in one word, it would be emotionless. Because that is what everyone thinks. They don't try and get to know me, unlike some of the Avengers. Coulson. Natasha. Clint. Steve. They know me better than anyone else and they aren't even my family. I decided to stop myself before I thought too far about that subject. Walking towards the door, I took my hand out of my hoodie and reached out towards it. However, the door opened before I could reach the handle that wasn't even there. Why do I keep doing that?

"JARVIS?"

"Yes Miss Hill?" The AI asked.

"Can you please not open my door automatically? Just make me scan my fingerprint instead."

"Of course Miss Hill. I shall order Mister Stark to do it." Order? I like the sound of JARVIS having more authority.

"Do you like ordering Stark about?" I asked him, jesting.

"It is not a tedious task." He replied, but it was almost impossible to tell that he was joking.

"I wish I had the kind of power that Stark does."

"You do have more power in one way."

"How?" I asked.

"From what I understand, Mr. Stark doesn't get along with other humans very well."

"And I do?" They call me Agent Chill. That doesn't exactly represent a warm character. I guess I produced that character to get things done, but no one ever gets to know me. I'm glad to have Steve, Natasha and Clint.

"Better than Mr. Stark." He said. I must talk with vision and see if he has the same kind of humour.

"Thank you JARVIS." I said simply, to which he replied "You are welcome Miss Hill."

I walked out of the door, which shut automatically, and made my way towards the kitchen. I entered and heard someone wolf whistle. I looked up and saw Clint sitting on top of the kitchen cupboards eating a bowl of cereal.

"Who knew someone could have such good legs?" Clint asked, winking.

I smirked, knowing that he didn't mean anything by it, and said "Not so bad yourself." He was wearing his hawkeye outfit. It's basically all he goes around in.

"Damn straight." He said sitting up, his head at least a metre away from the ceiling, and jumped down two metres from the cupboard to land perfectly straight on the floor. Placing his bowl in the sink, he asked "feeling better?"

"Much better thanks." I replied and sat down with Steve, Stark, Pepper, Vision and Scarlet Witch.

"Yeah I heard about your fear." Stark said, smirking. "Arachnophobia. Never thought you'd be afraid of such a small pathetic insect." I heard a fast rush of wind, almost feeling the pressure of it, and realised that Natasha had thrown a book at Starks head.

"What are you calling a small pathetic insect?"

"Well _you_ may not be pathetic, but you are definitely-"

"Finish that sentence Stark. I dare you." She said, stalking towards him.

"You are definitely small." He said, smirking.

"Big enough to take you on." Clint said, smiling too, knowing that Natasha would win. I could see gratitude in her eyes, but she would never say thank you.

"Oh we will see about that."

"I don't think we need to." She said and quickly climbed up onto his shoulders, making him drop his bowl, and pulled him backwards. She landed fully upright, whereas Stark landed in a more uncomfortable position on his back, sprawled across the floor.

"Ow." He said simply and tried to get up, only managing to with the help of Pepper.

"Please don't try and kill my boyfriend." She said, placing Tony back on his seat. "I am fully aware of your capabilities."

"I'll try not to." Natasha said smiling.

"Would you like some waffles, Miss Hill?" Vision asked.

"Yes, thank you. And please call me Maria."

"Of course, Maria." He replied and put them on a plate, before handing them to me. God, he is so polite.

"Maria? Would you like to come and train with me today?" Wanda asked. Damn it, I totally forgot.

"I'm really sorry, but I'm meeting Scott Lang, ie. The Antman, today. I'm taking him on a tour."

"Oh okay." She said, smiling, but I could tell that she felt let down.

"Perhaps at eight o'clock tonight?" I asked. "The others can look after him for a bit."

She smiled larger than before and replied "sounds good."

"Could've sworn Falcon had his ass kicked by that little dude." Clint said, picking up his mug of coffee and taking a sip.

"In short terms...yes." Steve said, smirking.

Falcon entered from one side of the room holding a newspaper and looking like he was in a trance. "Speak of the devil." Natasha said, taking a swig of her disgusting sports drink that she manages to consume in order to keep herself healthy. Apparently.

He looked up and us and placed the newspaper on the table. "Have you seen this Cap?" He asked.

We all gathered round and Pepper said "I didn't want to mention it, but I kind of felt like I had to."

 **Stark traits are rubbing off on Rogers.**

 **Our so called golden boy has been seen with multiple girls at a time, romancing them in clubs and places alike. He has only just been let out of the year 1945 and we are allowing him to manipulate our women? This shouldn't be allowed.**

Along with it, there was a photo of Natasha kissing Steve and then me kissing Steve. How did they even get that photo? It was a V.I.P. area. Stupid paparazzi.

Another headline read: **Go back under the ice!**

"I'm so sorry Steve." Wands said, putting a hand on his arm. I felt slightly jealous of it, but it was only because of the news headline. I wanted to comfort him. I wondered whether Wanda was looking inside all of our minds. She could be looking inside Steve's head right now. She could know who he fancies...

"It's fine." Steve replied, getting up. "I'm heading to the gym." I knew there was something that he couldn't stand about the photo and it was not just his public image. I think that he did not want us to view him like that, even though we would never think that he was like that. I felt sympathy for him, the world viewing him in that way. Steve was the complete opposite of what the papers were making him to be.

"Rhodey's in there by the way." Natasha said.

"Thanks for the heads up." He said and walked off solemnly. The others returned to breakfast, but I watched as he walked away towards the door. He looked back, catching my eyes, and smiled softly. Returning the same smile, I waved goodbye to him and he went through the door to the gym. Tony would surely tease him about this later.

I sat back down and finished my pancakes before going downstairs to meet Scott Lang. On the way down, I noticed the occasional agent sneer at me and I wondered whether it was because of the newspaper report. I assumed it was. My public image was also damaged. People thought I had no emotions and suddenly I was kissing Captain America. What must they think of me? The newspaper didn't say it was for a mission, but how were the readers suppose to know that.

I saw at reception someone, looking very nervous, speaking to Steve. He must've caught him on the way to the gym. "Thank you for thanking of me. For thinking of me, I mean."

"That's alright." Steve said, looking more worried than when he first met Coulson. Who knew...Scott Lang - a fan boy?

"Mr Lang?" I asked, approaching them both.

"Yeah." Scott said, turning round to face me.

"Maria Hill." I said, extending my hand for him to greet.

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	4. Agent Chill

**Thank you for the great feedback! I really appreciate. Keep it coming :) LOOOOOONNGGGG chapter this!**

 **Previously:**

 **"Mr Lang?"**

 **"Yeah." He said, turning round to face me.**

 **"Maria Hill." I said, extending my hand for him to greet.**

"Hi. I've heard...I've heard a lot of things about you too." He said, nervous about meeting me I think and I got suspicious.

"Bad things?" I asked and he looked at Steve.

"Nope. All good." He said and smiled at me.

"I'm here to take you on the tour. We already have your sleeping quarters set out for you by the way." I said and started walking towards the desk. He followed quickly behind me after quickly waving goodbye to Cap. Steve also smiled at me, but he looked nervously at me. I think he was still upset and felt awkward about earlier - the newspaper. "Room key for Scott Lang." I said at reception.

The receptionist was too busy staring at the screen and asked "Name?"

"I don't think you need one." I replied and he looked up from his computer.

His mouth opened slightly and he mumbled an apology. "Um...yeah sorry...uh..."

"The key?" I asked and he hurried off to fetch it. I smirked at his nervousness and I saw Scott watching me.

"You know, you are a very intimidating person."

"That's not the worst thing I've been called." I replied, smiling and the man came back with the key.

"Here is the key, Agent Chi-" The man stopped himself and said "Hill. Agent Hill."

"Thank you, Mr. Barrler." I said, trying not to feel insulted.

"I'm sorry...I mean...yeah...I just."

"Don't bother trying to justify yourself." I said, waving my hand and rolling my eyes. I continued to walk with Scott down a corridor.

"What was that about?" He asked curiously.

"The agents at S.H.I.E.L.D had a name for me. Agent Chill."

"Why?" He asked.

"Because I apparently have no emotions."

"And do you?" He asked, which made me stop. No one has ever questioned that before.

"Do I have emotions?" I asked turning round in the corridor, other agents and staff passing us by.

"Yeah."

"Honestly?" I asked and he nodded. "Sometimes I think I do, but I believe I'm kidding myself. Sometimes I can't even tell whether I do or not. I've had this persona for too long and it's become me. It is like my emotions have been sealed up in a metal prison that you can't escape. Occasionally someone breaks of the prison, but they always catch them in the end."

He stared at me and said "then maybe you should let the prisoners go."

"Letting you out of prison was the best thing we did."

"Then maybe you should listen to your own advice." He said smiling. "And the best thing?" He asked.

I smirked and said "One of the best." I turned round and continued to walk down the corridor.

"So on your right we have the conference rooms. Debriefings about missions and meetings in general will be held in these conference rooms."

I showed him round the bottom floor, which contained the conference rooms, the group canteen, the car garage (mainly Starks cars) and multiple group training rooms for staff. Then I showed him the basement for storage, the second floor which had many offices for biological research and the third floor which was for tech logical research. Scott seemed most fascinated by the fourth floor, which was for researching the other galaxies, such as Asgard and Vanaheim. Last but not least was the Avengers floor. The lift opened and no one was there, because they were probably all training.

"On this floor," I said, walking out of the lift. "We have five training rooms for group sessions. We thought that would suffice. The avengers can go and train with the staff downstairs if they wish, but that usually results in a casualty."

He was still fascinated and I don't think he was taking in my explanation but I carried on. "This is the living room, with many sofas, chairs and bean bags to sit on watching the television."

I pointed to the things as I explained the rooms. "Kitchen, training rooms, bathroom and bedrooms."

I walked towards the bedrooms and he was finally keeping up. As he looked on the walls, at the icons for each room, he looked confused at some of them, so I explained what each symbol meant. I took him to his room, took out the key from my pocket and opened the door.

"Scan your finger here." I said and he put his finger on the scanner. "This is how you will now open your door." I explained entering the room.

He was completely shocked by the huge space that was his room. "Wow." He said in awe.

"Shocked at the tech or shocked by the size?" I asked.

"Both." He said simply and explored the room.

"You bags have been delivered and are next to your bed."

"Cool." He said smiling, but I could tell he wasn't really with it.

"I'll introduce you to the others if you'd like?"

"The others?" He asked, still dazed with the sight of his bedroom.

"The other avengers." I said, as we exited the room, shutting the door on the way out, and he snapped back to reality.

"Sorry, yes. Your team." He said. We walked down the corridor and opened the door to the kitchen, my eyebrows furrowed at his statement.

"No, I'm not on the team." I said, entering the kitchen.

"But you should be." I heard Natasha voice echo round the room. I swished my hair around and saw Vision, Natasha, Tony, Thor, James, Sam and Steve sitting and standing around the glass kitchen table. Everybody had plates of food except from Vision, who I think doesn't even eat at all.

"I don't think so." I said, chuckling slightly.

"That's actually quite a good idea." Steve commented and I turned to him. "I think you'd be a valid member of the team."

"What?" Stark asked. "Agent Chill? Wait no...her superhero name could be Ice Queen."

"Sounds brilliant." I dead-panned. I turned to Scott and said "Meet the...well some of the Avengers. There's Tony, who I'm sure you've heard of already." Stark offered his hand and Lang shook it.

"I've heard a lot about you." Scott said.

"Yeah. Apparently my name is the best, so you settled for a mediocre one."

"Better than Green Lantern." he said and Stark smirked. He turned his head to me and said "I like him already."

"This is Vision." I said.

"Hello Mr Lang. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"So you are part JARVIS? Is that right?"

"Yes." he said. "Thor provided the energy for my creation to occur."

"Speaking of demi-Gods, this is Thor." I said, gesturing to the man that seemed to completely overpower the ant.

"Um….hi." Scott said, feebly.

"Good day, Man of Ant. I am Thor Odinson of Asgard."

"I'm Scott Lang….of New York." he said, laughing slightly at the man's use of vocabulary, and shook his hand.

"I'm sure you don't need any introductions for this Avenger…" I said smirking slightly at Sam's unmoving emotionless face.

Scott said with hesitation "...h-hi…."

The Falcon angrily paced forward until he was face to face with Scott. He outstretched his hand and said "Welcome to the team." with a smug smile. Lang breathed a sigh of relief and accepted the gesture.

"This is War Machine, aka. James Rhodes, and Black Widow, aka. Natasha Romanoff." I said, gesturing to both of them, Natasha sitting on the desktop and Rhodey standing up.

"It's nice to meet you." Natasha said, doing a quick wave before returning her hand to sip her coffee.

"You too."

"Glad you're here with us." Rhodey said, shaking Lang's hand firmly.

"Me too."

"And last but not least…." I said, pointing in the direction of Steve.

"Yeah, we've already met." Scott said, pulling an apologetic face. "Sorry for the stumbling introduction earlier. It was just a bit much having Captain America being the first person that I meet. Bit of a privilege too." Jeez, he's nearly as bad as Coulson.

"That's okay." he said, shaking his hand. "And the privilege is all mine."

"I've heard about how you kicked his partners ass." Natasha asked, smirking at Sam.

"Language." Steve warned. Natasha smiled and shook her head.

"I took him for a test drive. I let him off easy." Falcon argued.

"Sure. Whatever you say buddy." Scott said, smirking.

Falcon chuckled and said "Oh just you wait until I kick your ass in training."

"Kick my ass? I've been in training. One of the best." he said, the last bit of his sentence sounded more emotional than I think he intended.

"Who is she?" Natasha asked and he looked surprised.

"How did y-"

"Is it Hope Pym?"

He looked curiously at her. "How did you know?"

"I've been observing them. I can keep information inside my head like Sherlock Holmes." she answered. "And we've been tracking you." she said to which he smirked at.

"So you know the location of my family?" he asked worriedly. "Who else knows? Are they safe? Do you-"

"Your family is under protection at the moment, including your daughter." Vision explained.

"There is no need to worry. Our agents have moved in nearby and keep close watch on them. Don't worry." Steve said.

Scott breathed out and said "Thank you. I'm very grateful for that."

"That's alright kid." Rhodey said. "You want a drink?"

"Uh sure. Coke if you've got any?"

"He speaks my kinda language." he said, making everyone laugh, and threw Scott a coke.

I had a feeling they were going to get on, so I decided that I should leave them to it. I wasn't an Avenger, so I shouldn't really be here. I only have a room and a place here to keep an eye on everything. Nobody seemed to notice me slowly leave the room, but as exited I bumped into Wanda.

"Oh, sorry Wanda." I apologised, picking up what seemed like paperwork on the floor. I asked her curiously "helping out the HR department?"

She shook her head and smiled. "No i'm just doing some research online about other like me. Whether they are fake or real….I thought I might as well look." she replied, her accent thick.

"Well why don't you ask JARVIS to help you or Vision even. They must have the biggest data banks in the world."

She smiled at me again and said "Thanks Maria."

"It's fine." How could I ever call her weird? She was about to walk past me, but stopped me in my tracks. "Is the Antman in there?"

"Yes, I've just introduced him to everyone."

"Are you not staying?" she asked, confused.

"Not really my place. I'm not an Avenger."

"Well you should be."

"That's what Natasha said."

"Anyway, you should come in. You count as one of us."

"I don't think so. I've already talked to him enough for a lifetime anyway." I said and hurried off before she could argue.

"I'll meet you in the training room at eight still." she shouted and I waved back to her, agreeing. I was right though. I don't count as one of them. I don't do the missions or have good enough skills or even have a cool name like Stark said. With all those things in mind, I decided to go to the simulation room. Because I was staying with the Avengers, I got to use all their advanced technology.

I paced to the changing room, got changed into my gym outfit that was already in the changing rooms, and went to the centre simulation spot, however, before I got there, I realised that someone was already in the room.

"Hey Clint. Didn't mean to interrupt." I apologised, as Clint exited the simulation box. It was a huge glass box, at least two hundred metres each way, that simulated enemies that you would be likely to fight, whether it be Asgardians, HYDRA or some random bank robbers.

"No, it's fine. I was done with practise anyway." he said carrying his bow under his left arm, sounding a little breathless and with sweat across his flushed face - he was only human after all. "Also, I like to see you fall on your ass."

"You don't want Steve to hear you talking with that tone." I jestered and he smirked.

"Steve can kiss my-"

"Don't say it!" I warned.

"Ass!"

"LANGUAGE!" I shouted, impersonating Steve, and Clint high-fived me as he went to sit on one of the side benches as I went into the training centre, grabbing my hologram guns and knives as I went.

"Come on Hill!" I heard him shout - the box wasn't sound proof.

I stood on the centre spot and was about to type in the one level out of ten that I wanted, but Clint got ahold of the outside controls. "Damn you Clint! Please don't set me on a hard level."

"Level 8 has been set." he said, smirking.

"YOU REALLY ARE A DICK!" I shouted. I have only done level 8 a couple of times. Really badly. However, I have been training really hard recently. Come on Hill.

I heard the simulation begin to set up my level and I had no idea what I was facing. The sides of the screen went dark and the only light I had was from the moon in the simulation. I guessed that I was in the jungle setting because there were tall trees surrounding me. I immediately hid behind one of the trees and the electronic voice of JARVIS played over the speakers. "Level 8. 20 targets surrounding you. No backup. Weapon choice of 2 guns and knives. Six shots. Simulation starts in 3...2...1...begin."

Straight away three agents started running towards me. I threw a knife into the chest of one, taking him down, elbowed the second one in the face and kicked the third in the chest, sending him stumbling backwards. I tripped the feet of the second and sent a knife into his chest as the third got to his feet. He threw a knife at my face and I leant backwards to avoid being hit, touching the floor with my hand. I pushed myself back up, only to be punched in the face by the man. I kicked him in the stomach, making him bend forward, and then punched his face to knock him out. I picked up the knives I had used and threw one of them at an upcoming enemy.

"HYDRA agents." I whispered, noticing the logo on their uniforms before they disappeared. All the simulated enemies disappear once they have been killed, but after ten seconds of being dead.

I noticed some agents coming towards me, not really being able to see me because of the lighting of the scene, but the torches at the front of their guns gave them away. Using my knives, I climbed up the tree, sticking the sharp edges into the wood. There was a thick branch that I climbed onto and brought out my guns. I shot all six of them down. Nine down...eleven to go.

I chucked away one of my guns, knowing that we only had three shots on each gun to make the game play difficult. I slid the other gun back in my holster and stepped back into the shadows, not seeing any lights just yet. My breath was ragged, but got even more so as someone came up from behind me and strangled me. I struggled in their grip and felt like my lungs were on fire. I kicked his shin, causing him to loosen his grip slightly, and elbowed his face, causing him to stumble back. I punched his face and hit him with my famous Wushu Butterfly Kick. I'm pretty happy with it, because Clint can't even do it.

I ran to the nearest tree and closed my eyes listening to the sounds around me. To make the scene realistic, the simulation had insects chirping and the sound of a light breeze rustling the tress. However, I did hear the sound of light footsteps crunching against the leaves. Four...no five agents. Darting from the tree, I took down the first two. The first I gave a side kick to the throat - crushed throat, broken Adams apple. The second, I gave a side kick to the heart - crushed chest, broken sternum. I picked up one of the bodies and the other agents tried to shoot at me, but I dodged their shots by using the dead body. I dropped it and slid under the legs of one of the agents, whilst throwing a knife at another in his head. I hit him in a rather sensitive place and then spun around, kicking the back of his head - broken neck, loss of consciousness. For the last agent, I did a thigh neck hold to break her neck.

I grabbed my knives off of the floor, because the bodies had disappeared, and heard some footsteps behind me. I could tell by the patterns of the footsteps that one of them was nearly behind me and the other was a bit further away. Knowing that the first one was particularly close, I spun round quickly, elbowing his face. The second one I punched in the face, hoping to knock him out, but he was a strong build. I took a run up and kicked him in the chest and pushed off of it, landing on my hand, then proceeding to do three back-flips, avoiding the trees. He spat out some blood, growled slightly and started charging towards me.

I pushed myself off a tree, using my leg as a form of spring, and wrapped my legs round him, my hands strangling his neck. He choked slightly, but then used his hands to push me off, my back slamming against one of the trees. He picked me up by my neck, squeezed it and held me up against the tree. I smashed my feet against his chest, causing his ribs to crack. Because he pushed away, I dropped to the floor, which I must admit hurt. Even though his body was nearly broken, this guy would not give up.

"Oh, just die already." I mumbled, rolling my eyes. He sprinted towards me and he reached out to grab me, but I quickly ducked under his arm, smashing his head against the tree, I was slumped against. He still wasn't dead yet, so I did a drop kick to his back and landed in a lunge, the force of the kick killing him. "Finally." I whispered.

I looked around the area, searching for a light, and finally saw two spots of it about 120 metres away. I started running, remembering to collect my knives before I left, until I was about ten metres away from them. These are the last two...

I ran up one and punched the male agent in the face. The other female agent noticed and I spun backwards to hit her head with my right foot, kicking her down. I twisted punching the male in the stomach and then kneed the female, who had now stood up, in the groin. I kicked the woman's shin and the man's hip, then I hit both of their knees with two heavy kicks. I put both my arms out, to make a T position, as if I were a young cheerleader, and spun round, punching them both in the face simultaneously. I kept spinning and jumped up into a pike kick, landing in a lunge.

"Mission completed. Congratulations Agent Hill. You have now completed Level 8." I heard JARVIS' voice come over the speakers. The trees faded into the ground and the darkness of the surroundings faded. I looked at where I was in the box and noticed all of the team watching me from outside. I stood up from my lunge and walked towards the door, which was on the other side of the room. I realised that Clint, along with the others if they were there when he was, ran along with me when I moved. I started walking back and picked up my weapons on the way.

Once I got to the door, the others meeting me there, I put the weapons in their designated boxes and turned back to the team. "Wow." I heard Scott whisper.

"What?" I asked, my words slightly breathless. "I know it's the first time I've completed a Level 8, but it wasn't that impressive."

"Too modest." Pepper said, passing me a drink of water. I accepted it gratefully, flashing her a smile. I always got along with Pepper for some reason. Maybe it's because I kinda work for Stark...even though Coulson has me doing the old job...however I'm also working for Steve...and Fury...I just work for the Avenger's facility. I guess I keep them in order and send them out on mission and stuff, but apart from that I'm just doing more work.

"You really should become a member of the team though." Steve said. "I think it would be good for you."

"Course _you_ would." Stark said.

"What is that suppose to mean?" Steve asked, his cheeks going red slightly.

"Look!" Clint shouted. "I think it's a good idea and I think we should take a vote."

"Agreed." James said.

"I agree. We should vote fairly." Thor said.

"Who votes that she's in?" Pepper asked. Every single person put their hand up.

"Are you kidding me? I don't know whether I can do this." I argued.

"Well we can." Falcon said, smiling.

"I'm not as well trained as you guys."

"You're nearly my standard." Natasha said, knowing it was a compliment to me. She did have the serum in her unlike me. "We can get Rogers to train you up." I saw Steve genuinely smile at the thought of us training together and the thought also made me smile. Then I shook my head, gathering my senses. "No. I'm not doing it."

"Why?"

"I'm not good enough."

"Did you see yourself?" Wanda asked. "You were amazing!"

"I must agree with Ms. Maximoff." Vision said.

"No. I organise you. I can't be an Avenger when I organise them at the same time. That won't work. Can we please talk about something else?" I almost pleaded. They nodded and Scott decided to speak first.

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	5. Lunch?

**Thank you for the support :) keep reviewing!**

 **Previously:**

 **"Why?"**

 **"I'm not good enough."**

 **"Did you see yourself?" Wanda asked. "You were amazing!"**

 **"I must agree with Ms. Maximoff." Vision said.**

 **"No. I organise you. I can't be an Avenger when I organise them at the same time. That won't work. Can we please talk about something else?" I almost pleaded. They nodded and Scott decided to speak first.**

"Can I just say that was amazing?" Scott said, slightly in awe at what he had just witnessed.

"Hell yeah it was." Sam said, smirking. "I wonder how long you would last in there?" he teased.

"How long i'd last?" he asked. He was definitely nervous about this. I think anyone would be.

"I bet you won't last five seconds."

"Five seconds?" Stark asked. "He won't last two!"

"Hey! Stop it!"

"Maybe it'll be good for him." Natasha commented.

Steve raised his eyebrows. "You're backing them?"

"Well it might be good to test him out a bit. See what he's like."

Steve turned to me. "Do you think this is a good idea?"

Why is he asking for my opinion? "Honestly?" I asked and he nodded. "Yes. I think it would be good for him to test his abilities in other situations apart from something that he knows all about, like the mission involving the Pym Technologies building. It'll give us a chance to see his strengths and weaknesses, analyse his fighting style and think about how he would work with the team and who best with. Additionally, we do have a program already set up for him and his abilities."

Steve raised his eyebrows as me and James said "A simple yes would've done but whatever."

"Go get changed." I ordered and turned back to the team once he had gone into the changing rooms. "Opinions. Now. I know you have them."

Their voices overlapped - a mixture of opinions that where impossible to decipher. They were always a lively bunch...well maybe not Bruce.

"Number one - he's called Antman. I mean, what is that about?"

"I think he'll be a good asset in the field."

"Seriously? Frickin super strength!?"

"Who would win? Antman or Cap?"

"He seems a bit under confident, don't you think?"

"Can we really trust him? Didn't he just come out of jail?"

"GUYS!" I shouted, calling the group to silence. "I heard some of your questions through that stretch of incomprehensible speech, but not all of them. Here are the answers for the one's I heard. His name is Antman and his real name is Scott Lang. He spent time in prison for robbery, but has been released - we did not bail him out. He has a daughter who he is not seeing at the moment just to try and have a shot at being an Avenger to keep her safe. I do not know who would win between Cap and Antman, Clint." I said, giving him a look, to which he just grinned at. "Hopefully that won't need to happen, unless it is in training! Anyway, He may seem slightly nervous, because of the fact that he has met the whole group of Avengers over the course of only a couple of hours. So sorry if he feels a bit under confident when faced with the greatest beings on Earth and believe me when I say that we can trust him. Any questions?"

"Yeah." Stark said, raising his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Stark."

"Has your Avengers suit been made yet?"

I rolled my eyes. "Any relevant questions?" Everyone stayed silent, so I took that as a no. "Good." At that moment, an agent walked through the door. I recognised him as the agent from earlier at reception. Stupid nicknames. He rushed over and passed me a folder, before saying "These a-are the folders you requested a-about Scott Lang. I-i'm sorry about earlier today ma'am."

I quickly looked at the others and then back to him. "You are dismissed." He hurried off, probably to hide the thing that he calls a face, behind the reception desk he shivers behind.

"What happened earlier?" Steve asked, concerned and I shook my head, looking at the ground for most part of it.

"Nothing." I answered, stoically.

"Are you sure, Miss Hill? You seem upset." Vision said, Wanda hovering, not literally, behind him.

"Obviously it was something." Steve said, walking towards me.

I snapped my head up. "It was nothing, Mr. Rogers." There was a long silence between the group until Tony said "Aw-kward."

"Hawkward." Clint said, smiling at the link. It had become a catch phrase throughout New York now, but I still glared daggers at him and Stark. Scott came back through the door in his suit before I could strangle them. "Um...i'm not sure abou-"

"You'll be fine." Clint said, clapping him on the back.

"But I don't know how this works!" Scott said, nervously. He was almost shaking bless him.

"Just don't get killed." Tony warned, smiling.

"WHAT?" Scott shouted. "You can die in here?"

"He's joking about that, Mr. Lang." I said, remaining professional with the choice of name. "You'll be fine. Minor injuries only and we'll probably pull you out before even those happen."

He breathed out strongly and said "Okay. Do I have any weapons?"

"Why would you need weapons? You've got your suit." Tony said, gesturing to the suit that he was already wearing.

"Cap has a shield."

I handed him the a fake gun. "Easy level doesn't need a lot of weapons. Just go in by yourself and try and complete the level."

"Please make it easy." he said, before entering the training centre. Steve gave me a sympathetic look and I could tell that it was because he knew that what the receptionist said. He knew that he said something that had hurt me. He always read me brilliantly, which in most cases would be good, but in this case it's a fucking pain in the ass.

"Ready Scott?" I asked, louder than usual because the glass was in the way.

"Nope." he answered, his hands straight down in fists by his sides.

"Good." I smiled and gestured for Cap to type in the level.

He shook his head. "This one's yours."

I nodded and did a small smile to him, before pressing the level I wanted Scott to complete. "Level 4. 9 targets surrounding you. No backup. Weapon choice of 1 gun. Three shots."

"Three?" Scott shouted, looking up to the sky as if to talk to JARVIS.

"Simulation starts in 3...2...1...begin." JARVIS voice said and Scott immediately went small. I looked into the box and realised it was the desert. Wow….that's a bad first of pick out of the bag of much nicer settings, like the riverside. I love that one. Sometimes afterwards I just sit and enjoy the look of the fake water and waterfall and wish it was real. There are no dead bodies lying afterwards because they all disappear.

"SHIT!" I heard Scott shout from the box, bringing me back to reality. I still couldn't see him, but I could see the agents being taken down. He grew back to his actual size again and punched the final agent in the face. He came over to the door, the simulator powering down, and the gun was in his hand. He opened the door and threw Falcon the gun.

"Amount of shots fired?" Sam asked, inspecting the gun to see the life line. "I couldn't hear them."

Scott smiled and said "None." Sam smirked back and then placed the gun back in the holder. Very impressive work from a new Avenger. When I read Scott's profile I was very impressed by some of the things he had done. I discovered that he was the one behind the explosion at Pym Industries. His break in's are illegal, but very skilled.

"Well done...for your first time." he commented and Antman smiled.

"So, how did I do?" he asked me, anxiously.

"Well…." I said, reading the report that JARVIS had given. "You were 91% efficient." I said, smiling, and he took my smile as a sign to be proud of his work. "Some slips, but they were only minor. You escaped with no injuries and your head still connected to your neck, so I would definitely label this as a success."

"Did the Ice Queen just make a joke?" Stark asked and Steve glared at him.

"Don't call her that." he growled.

"It's fine, Steve. I get it all the time." I answered, dismissing the stupid name, even though Steve looked at me curiously. "Anyway, are you happy with the facility? Is it suitable for you?"

"Suitable?" he asked. "This is a fucking 20 star hotel."

"Language." Cap warned.

"He says that a lot by the way." Tony said and I glared at Stark. I had always had a grudge against Stark and that grudge was starting to boil near to exploding point. "God, I feel like I'm the most attractive guy in the room with all these eyes watching me. I think i'm blushing." Tony said, reeling in the attention. That's it. I hate him so much. I CAN'T STAND THIS ANYMORE!

"For God sakes Stark, you're not attractive. You're not the most attractive guy in the room and even if you were no one would want to date you, because you are a mean human being who doesn't know right from wrong and will always rely on other people to get you out of your own mess. Do you even remember the fact that you were a playboy? You revel in it and even said you were one even though you were dating Pepper at the same time. You're a sick little bastard is what you are and the least of all attractive." I said in one big splurge of hormones and rage. _What just happened to me?_

" _I'm_ not the most attractive guy in the room?" he asked, picking up on that one sentence.

"Definitely not."

"Who is?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Who is the most attractive guy in the room?" Stark's question stopped my verbal diahera moment and made me feel….embarassment. I don't know why though. Of course he wasn't the most attractive, the most attractive was….no i'm not….i'm not doing this.

"No comment." I said and walked straight out of the room. "Who's blushing now?" Stark asked and I heard a thud of Steve punching him in the face. I spun round and glared angrily at Steve this time, not trying to smirk at the fact that Tony was sprawling on the floor and no one was helping. Clint was laughing from the sidelines and everyone else was trying to hold it in. "Steve!" I shouted. "My office. Now." I said and then turned around, walking straight down the corridor to my office. I sat down with a huff and then heard the door open, revealing Steve looking apologetic.

"Maria, i'm really-"

"Don't." I said, putting a hand up. He sat down and I began. "Why did you punch Stark in the face?"

"Because he was being mean like you said earlier."

"I don't need you to fight my battles for me."

"You needed someone on your side."

"That doesn't mean that you punch him in the face. You may still believe you are in a war zone, but I don't. You can't live without it. We certainly don't want war with each other."

He turned his head at me. "I can't live without war? Do you think I want a war in this period of time?"

"Either that or you want to go back. You keep training as if the war is still going. It's over Steve." I said, my anger only this high because of the receptionist and Stark being a dick.

"Well maybe I should go back like the papers say!" he shouted, pushing his fist through the wall, only gently skimming the surface of his strength, but it managed to plunge a whole in it. He sighed and perched himself against my desk, holding his head in his hands. "God, you're right."

I shook my head, got up to join him and argued "No. I was wrong. Obviously you don't want war...it's just a bit out of your comfort zone without one I guess."

"Maybe they are right. As you just said, I _am_ out of my comfort zone." he said. "Maybe instead of finding reasons to stay, I should listen to my reasons to go back."

"Don't say that." I said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Everybody wants you here."

"I don't believe that anymore." he said, shaking his head.

"You should. I do." I said and our eyes caught for a second before I quickly added. "And the others, including Stark, even though he doesn't show it."

"I don't believe the word feelings even lives in Starks mind."

"I do disagree with you on that part."

"Why disagree?"

"Because of Pepper. He let her into his heart. He hasn't cheated or anything. He loves her. He just doesn't admit it." I said, smiling. "Stark and admitting things close to his heart don't mix very well, in fact they don't mix at all."

"Does he even open up to Pepper?"

"I hope so." I laughed quietly.

"Do you think Tony's alright?"

"What? From the punch?" I asked and he nodded. I got the tablet and looked at his vitals. "The only thing he hurt was his pride i'm afraid." I said, which caused Cap to chuckle slightly. "Thank you for punching Stark in the face." I admitted quietly.

"Thank you for talking to me honestly about it." he said, smiling.

"That's okay." I said, returning his smile. I got the tablet and looked at the others vitals. I noticed that Steve's heart race was increasing more than the others. "What is it?" I asked, putting the tablet back on the desk and turning round to face him, us both still sitting on the desk.

"What did the man say earlier?" he asked, knowing that he might regret asking it. I knew that the thankful discussion a minute ago would open me up to vulnerabilities. Friendship.

"He just said my name incorrectly."

"Is that a big deal? Did you get upset that he didn't know you?"

"No, he knew me, and no, i'm not as vain as Stark." I retorted.

"How come he knew you and he forgot your name?" he asked, curiously.

"Well, i'm sure that you've heard of my nickname - Agent Chill." I said.

He nodded and asked "He called you that?"

"Yeah. Not the best nickname."

"If you don't mind me asking...what does that actually mean? And why did you get it?"

I sighed. "It means that...I have no heart and I have no emotions. Feelings and emotions are 'from the heart' so when people say 'Ice Queen' or 'Agent Chill', it means that I have no heart and am cold blooded. Not human."

His jaw dropped slightly. "That's horrible. Why do they think you have no emotions?."

"I'm not exactly nice to people."

"But you're nice to me." he said, which made me think. I was. He was so close to me, probably too close.

"You're the only person here, apart from Natasha, Pepper and Clint, who doesn't treat me like an object and waste of space. I'm kind to you because you're kind to me."

"But what about Thor and Bruce? They're kind to you."

"I'm not that close with them." I replied and he smiled slightly. "Anyway," I said pushing off the desk. "I need to go and speak to Mr. Lang about training exercises and how the operations work here."

"I'm happy that we had this discussion." I said, opening the door for him to walk through.

"Me too." He smiled and walked past me, his captivating smell making me breath a little deeper.

 **Please review and the next chapter will be up soon :)**


	6. TAHITI

**Previously:**

 **"I need to go and speak to Mr. Lang about training exercises and how the operations work here."**

 **"I'm happy that we had this discussion." I said, opening the door for him to walk through.**

 **"Me too." He smiled and walked past me, his captivating smell making me breath a little deeper.**

I walked towards the training centre that I left Scott in as Steve made his way towards the gym, not that I was noting where he was going at all. I opened the door just as they were walking out of the room.

"Hey Chill." Tony smirked and pushed past me. Don't punch him. Don't punch him. I noticed the purple mark appearing on his face from where Steve had punched him. Maybe I should make that mark bigger.

"Miss Hill." JARVIS said, but I realised that Vision was talking to me and turned around instead of looking up to the ceiling.

"Yes Vision?"

"I was wondering whether Mr. Lang would need to be taken through the history of S.H.I.E.L.D and the Avengers Initiative."

"That sounds like a brilliant idea actually." I agreed. I think it would be nice for him to do something like that with a new team member, considering that Vision is kind of a new team member too. It might help him settle in. "Wanda." I grabbed her as she came out of the door and she smiled at me and then at Vision, holding the smile with him for a moment longer. "I was wondering whether you would like to accompany Vision in introducing Scott Lang into the history of the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D?"

Her face lightened up. "Are you sure?"

I nodded and she replied "Of course. I won't let you down. I promise." She seemed like she wanted to prove herself in some way but that had already been done through the battle of Sokovia in my opinion. She turned to Vision, with a worried expression, and said "As long as you don't mind."

He smiled and replied "I would be happy with your company." They smiled at each other and I wondered Is it possible to even have a robot to human relationship?

Scott walked past, play fighting with Sam, and I tapped his shoulder. "Mr. Lang?" I asked and he span round.

"See you later buddy." Sam said, as he continued to walk down the corridor.

"See you." Scott replied and then turned to me. "Sorry. What is it Miss Hill and please call me Scott." I would say call me Maria, but only a few have that privilege.

"This is Vision and Wanda Maximoff. Vision thought it would be a good idea for you to get to know the history of S.H.I.E.L.D and the Avengers. Sound interested?"

He smiled and replied "Yeah. I think that would be brilliant. I always wanted to know what went on behind the closed doors."

"Cool. You wanna go to the living room or something? I always find those conference rooms a bit too formal." Wanda said.

"Yeah. I totally agree. Feels like i'm being interrogated." Scott said and she laughed. I could've sworn Vision looked a little jealous at their relationship, but somehow I could tell that he enjoyed listening to her laugh. They walked back towards the living room and I decided to go and talk to Coulson.

Walking back to my office, I thought of all the reasons why I shouldn't tell the rest of the group about him.

1\. Coulson is dead to everyone and them right now.

2\. The Avengers could go blabbing.

3\. They could blame S.H.I.E.L.D for his death and for keeping it from them, even though it was kind of our fault.

4\. They may investigate his survival.

5\. They could find out about all the trauma he went through of surviving.

6\. I think it would break Steve.

I opened the door and locked it behind me. I walked over to my desk and opened the laptop. I swiped over to a name in my contacts known as 'T.A.H.I.T.I' I called it that because no one ever sees my contacts anyway and anyone who does ends up dead in 5 seconds. Clicking on the call button, I realised that I never had an emotional attachment to my password. For the better really.

"Hello Maria." a voice came from the speakers of my computer and I looked at the webcam, noticing it was the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. I was so proud that he became the head. He deserved it.

"Coulson. Nice to speak to you again." I said, formally.

"You too, but I think you can call me Phil."

"You think I have that right?"

He looked at me confused. "Why wouldn't you?"

"So how have you been?" I asked, changing the subject. He fed a hand through his hair and huffed out, knowing that I was going to stay on this new subject and that there was no point in arguing with me.

"Quite busy actually." He looked down at the floor. "We still haven't found Simmons."

"How's Fitz holding up?" I asked, knowing they were close, having met them both before.

"That's the thing." he said and looked up at me. "He's not. He's hardly coping without her."

"That can't be efficient for your field work." I replied and he looked at me shocked.

"Field work?" he asked. "You're talking about field work when someone is hurting like this? Why would you even think about that? He is missing her like crazy and you know that there was something else going on between them."

"Was? You are talking to me like I'm crazy whilst you're using the past tense about agents that are only missing."

"You know what I mean." he snapped.

"How are we going to bring up S.H.I.E.L.D again if our agents are faulty?"

"Did you really just use the word faulty to describe a human being?" he asked, incredulously. "You have no idea how precious life is."

"Oh, just because you got killed and brought back to life in two minutes. Agents are more important."

"Wow. I may not have seen you in a couple of years, but wow. You really are different. You are even worse. Before, you used to remember that agents had heart, but now you think they are all copies of you. Ice inside without even a shred of emotion." He stopped himself abruptly before apologising. "Wait...Hill...I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"

"Save it." I said, angrily, and quickly shut the laptop lid. I just stopped and stared at the opposite wall. Blank was what that wall was. Completely blank like my soul. Coulson was right. I was turning the other agents into me. Into ice. I felt a tear slowly slide down my face and I quickly wiped it away, remembering who I was and what I was here to do.

"I'm here to keep order." I reminded myself and stood up, brushing myself down. "You will be in order." I said, repeating the words my trainers said to me. "You will not fail. You will not fall. You will be strong or die." I closed my eyes and breathed out, however I could feel my chest closing down on itself. Phil was my best friend and I have been so stupid. How do I get out of this? My whole life is a lie. Nothing is even personal about me. My name is fake and I can't remember what my real one is. I went to the door and wrapped my delicate fingers around the lock. Twisting slightly, I felt a shudder pass through me as the cold lock passed through my fingertips to the rest of my body.

The door unlocked and I already knew that if I saw anyone I would find it very difficult not to cry. I stepped out and saw Stark walking down the corridor. I immediately went in another direction, but not before he saw me go.

"Hey, Icey. Wait up!" he called out and I turned to him. I tensed at the name, but still asked "What do you want?"

"I needed your cold touch to sort out some papers. They just can't seem to finish themselves." he said, smirking. I felt like breaking down right then. I felt like punching him in the face right then. I felt curling up in a ball on the floor right then.

"Excuse me." I said quietly and entered a nearby girls bathroom, leaving him in the corridor, to probably just walk down and bother someone else. Making sure that there was no one in there, I slid down a wall, opposite the door, and put my head in my hands. I cried quietly to myself, trying not to make any noise, and wiped away my tears with a towel, not that it did any use because more tears just kept streaming down my face after the previous ones had been swiped off my cheeks. I heard a knock at the door and I snapped my head up, gasping at the noise.

"Hello?" I asked.

"It's me." I heard a male voice from behind the door say.

"What do you want Tony?" I asked and the door opened, revealing the billionaire himself.

"I wanted to check whether you were okay." he said. Was that sincerity in his voice? I didn't even know whether he was capable of that. Perhaps he is faking it.

"I'm fine." I said, pushing myself off the floor or at least attempting to before slumping back down again.

He shut the door and argued "You're really not." He came over to me and sat down on the floor. He would never do this in any other bathroom, but this certain one was clean very well and it was on the Avengers floor, so only the Avengers used it. "What's wrong with you Maria?"

I looked up at him. "So you now suddenly decide to use my real name? Oh well done Stark." I said, sarcastically.

"If that's what you're upset about...look it was just a stupid joke. Everyone does it."

"It's not just that. I'm just..." I couldn't really finish my sentence.

"You're just what?" he asked.

"I'm not the best person for comforting things. I give orders. I sort papers. I give more orders. I take orders from people with higher power, which is hardly anyone."

"Hang on, I thought you only took orders from me."

"I take orders from you and Steve remember." I said, not mentioning Fury and Coulson's orders.

"Yeah...so?" he asked, confused as to why I was upset.

"You and Pepper. You are serious right?"

"I hope so." he said, thinking about something else.

"What is it?" I asked and he turned his head to me.

"I want to marry her."

"You what?" I exclaimed, completely shocked by this new passion for her. He never seemed to show that.

"Yeah. I couldn't imagine her not in my life. She completes me and...I finally found someone who is more than just a fling."

"See. That sounds like something that I would never have."

"I don't know about that. You and capsicle seem pretty tight."

"I will never have that kind of relationship."

"Why?"

"Because no one will get close to me."

"You don't let them." he said, getting up and walking to the door. "You need to change your approach." he shouted, whilst walking down the corridor. Approach? You need an approach? I thought that was just for missions.

"Approach?" I asked myself.

"Erm...hello?" I heard Steve's voice from outsides and my head snapped up. The door opened the and Steve stood there, sweat dripping from his head and a light patch of sweat at the top of his shirt. "Did I just see Stark exiting this room?"

"Yes." I answered and he shut the door behind him.  
"But isn't this the ladies bathroom?"

"Yes."

"So why was he in here?" He asked.

"He um...he needed to check a electrics problem in there." I said, with a smile.

"That is a bit intrusive don't you think?"

"He just wants what's best I guess." I replied, saying it more to myself than to Steve. I tried to push myself up but I fell back down on the floor. Steve came over and helped me to my feet. His face fell. "So what did you guys talk about?" Steve asked me, taking in my tear stained cheeks.

Looking in the mirror, I noticed that my face was red and my eyes were bloodshot. I looked like shit basically. "Nothing much. I think he got the message about nicknaming me." I replied, not giving too much away.

"You get upset about that." He said, stating it rather than questioning it.

"It's nothing." I said and went to open the door, but he put his hand out, catching my arm lightly.

"If you wanted to talk about anything then I'm here for you." Steve said softly. I remembered Coulsons words - You really are different. You are even worse. Before, you used to remember that agents had heart, but now you think they are all copies of you. Ice inside without even a shred of emotion.

"That would be great actually." I said, smiling.

He slowly let go of my arm and asked "Where do you want to talk about it? In your office?"

"No." I said. "I'd rather do it somewhere more comfortable."

"The balcony?" He asked. _How come he knows exactly what I need?_

"Sounds good." We made our way to the balcony and I decided to get Steve's impression on the new avengers.

"So what do you think about the new members of the team then?" I asked.

"They're improving a lot. Scott is much better than I expected. I didn't realise that his suit was able to command power so strong. Wanda is a very clever woman, however she is delicate."

"Delicate?" I asked.

"Because of her brother, not because of her gender." He assured me to make sure he caused no offense. "She will be a strong ally."

"What about Vision?" I asked. He was a hard character to judge because he was so similar to a robot.

"Vision goes with what is right which means that hopefully he will find our goal of reaching world peace appealing to him. His skills are incredible and training with him is very interesting."

"I've noticed. You seem to be more patient when you fight with him." I said and Steve agreed.

"He's a brilliant Avenger.."

We arrived at the living room and Vision, Scarlett Witch and Scott were sitting there discussing history. They smiled at us and then continued discussing what happened with Thor's hammer.

We opened the balcony door and stepped into the sunlight that piered my eyes. I blinked slightly, trying to readjust, and my eyes finally got used to the brightness. There were a couple of chairs where I would usually work and I could see the trainees running round the building.

"Would you like me to bring up the notes you've made on the previous training exercises as per isual, Miss Hill?" JARVIS asked.

"No thank you JARVIS." I replied. "Cut all security feeds and tint the windows please."

"Of course." He replied and I saw the visor go down on across the windows.

"You come out here often then?" Steve asked me, taking a seat across from me.

"At least once a day to overview the recruits and the Avengers."

"You overview us?" Steve asked.

"Of course. I have got to keep you in shape somehow." I said smirking.

"So..." He started and I could tell where he was taking the sentence. "What did you and Stark talk about?"

"We talked about the nicknames he gives me." I said and he looked at me surprised..

"You got upset just about that?"

"I've just had a bad day that's all."

"Every day is a bad day." he said, looking out into the sky.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it seems like every day that we keep fighting, we keep causing trouble. Sokovia for example...the papers are questioning who is to blame for it. Some people believe that the Sokovian's are cursed, some believe it is Ultron's fault, some believe it's the government's fault..." he turned to look at me. "and some believe it's the Avenger's fault."

"And do you believe that?"

He looked towards the ground and sighed. "Partly...I didn't consider the strategies properly and-"

"Steve." I said, interrupting his self pitying. "It was not your fault. If it's anyone's fault then it's Stark's because his defence wasn't as powerful as it should've been. Also, he shouldn't have developed Ultron in the first place without getting help from other people." I told him reassuringly. "It's not your fault."

He nodded and looked up at me, smiling. "You're a great friend, you know." I couldn't decide whether I liked the word friend or not. It seemed very alien to me. If i'm not his friend then he isn't important to me, but if he is then that is a weakness and a fault on my behalf. _Remember what Coulson said about faults._

"Thank you. You're a great friend too. It's brilliant to talk to someone."

"Do you talk to the others much?" he asked.

"I give them their missions and tell them about their meetings with Stark and Banner for new weapons development."

"No, I mean socialise with them."

"Well...I socialise with-"

"Apart from Natasha and Clint." he added. I didn't say anything. I shook my head and drooped my head slightly. What was that? Shame? I didn't really have any friends apart from the ones that I had to be stuck with. Clint because he was one of the first people I met at S.H.I.E.L.D and Natasha because I helped her through her time transferring to S.H.I.E.L.D, because we were both trained by the same group. Do they even like me as a person or are they just stuck with me? "Well, you can talk to me if you ever feel lonely in your office and Clint and Natasha aren't here? If you would like of course."

I did a small smile and nodded. "I would like that very much." I said, softly.

"So was it just the name thing that was getting you down?" he asked, still concerned about my little upset earlier in the bathroom. I can't talk about Coulson. No one is suppose to know about him. _Think on your feet Hill._

"Uh...one of the recruits just made a comment about me. It wasn't exactly the nicest." I answered.

"Which one?" he asked, trying to sound curious, but I could hear the concern and anger in his voice.

"I can't remember. It was just in passing."

"Just in passing?"

"He just made..um...a little comment about me as I gave him some files and then I asked him what he meant and then he explained the whole situation."

"Oh okay." he said, solemnly. "As long as you're okay right?"

"Right." I replied and sat back in the chair, looking up at the slightly cloudy sky, with my new friend sitting close by if I needed him.

 **Hope you liked it**. **Please review! Also, I have no WiFi at the house BOOOO! So I am using my friends WiFi :) I know FitzSimmons have now re-kindled, but I wrote this before that time and I didn't want to take it out :)**


	7. Good moments

**Previously:**

 **"So was it just the name thing that was getting you down?" he asked, still concerned about my little upset earlier in the bathroom. I can't talk about Coulson. No one is suppose to know about him.** ** _Think on your feet Hill._**

 **"Uh...one of the recruits just made a comment about me. It wasn't exactly the nicest." I answered.**

 **"Which one?" he asked, trying to sound curious, but I could hear the concern and anger in his voice.**

 **"I can't remember. It was just in passing."**

 **"Just in passing?"**

 **"He just made..um...a little comment about me as I gave him some files and then I asked him what he meant and then he explained the whole situation."**

 **"Oh okay." he said, solemnly. "As long as you're okay right?"**

 **"Right." I replied and sat back in the chair, looking up at the slightly cloudy sky, with my new friend sitting close by if I needed him. I have never experienced this before - comfort.**

"I think there are some good moments mixed in with the bad." I said, trying to lighten his mood slightly. He smirked, still not looking directly at me, but then turned his head up to speak to me.

"So why was your day bad?"

"I can start off with a good thing which was Scott coming to join the Avengers officially..." Scott joining us was good. As well as adding a team member, it added a sense of unity, like Barton also does. He has a family. Although that puts both of their families in danger, it shows the team how they can...they can have attachments. _They_ can. I can't. I'm the one who keeps order and no emotions can get in the way. I know Phil said differently, but Rogers can't be anything more than a friend.

"But?" he asked, pulling me back to the conversation.

"But the receptionist said "Chill" instead of "Hill." I said, thinking of another idea.

"What is it?" he asked curiously, picking up on my absent-mindedness.

"I think I have another positive for you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. The guy who was mean in the corridor made me realise that I need to let some people in, which is why we're speaking right now. So if it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be having this conversation." I replied and he smiled.

"I'm very glad we're having this conversation." He said and turned his head back to the scenery, even though he blinked slightly from the bright intensity of the sun.

I looked down at my watch on my right wrist and checked the time. "I should probably get back to work." I said, about to get up.

"Wait." Steve said, quickly, his hand suddenly on my arm preventing me from going back inside. "What work do you need to do?"

"I still need to sort out some of the old S.H.I.E.L.D files."

"Well...I'll make you a deal. Stay here with me for ten more minutes looking out at the view and then I will spend all the time you want helping you with your filing. Deal?" He asked, extending his hand, and how could I resist. If there is one thing I can't stand it's filing. I would rather do it all electronically, but no we still have all the stupid boxes.

"Fine. It's a deal." I said and shook his hand. "But I don't have to enjoy the view." I snapped and looked out.

After five minutes of scanning around, I noticed all the little details that I didn't beforehand. Agent Hannah was flirting with Agent Coals - I need to write that down - someone was smoking outside and Agent Charles punched a trainee in the face. I secretly got out my pen and paper and started making little notes, but it wasn't long before Steve caught me.

"What are you doing?" He asked and I looked up at him, quickly snapping the notebook to my chest.

"Nothing." I said, hoping he wouldn't bring it up, but of course he was going to. The annoying thing is I would too. Who wouldn't?

"Stop making notes." He said, grabbing the pad from me and placing it on the side table "When I said look at the view, I meant at the scenic view. The trees, the buildings, the sky. Everything." He said, almost captivated by his own voice.

"Okay." I said, not really believing that it would help. However, I noticed something strange when I took a good look round at the scene. It was beautiful. The tips of the trees were swaying in the breeze, because they were tall. The clouds were scattered around and cast shadows on the ground. **(Authors note - I'm really not meaning to rhyme this)** Vision and Scarlet Witch raced over our heads and towards another building. They would be such a good-

"Scott!" I whispered urgently to Steve.

"No, I'm Steve." he joked.

I rolled my eyes. "I know that! I meant if Vision and Wanda are in the living room, then where is Scott?"

"JARVIS, where is Mr. Lang?" Steve asked.

"He is not in this building. He is currently in Central Manhattan in one of Mr. Starks sports cars with him."

I breathed out. "Not good, but better than him wandering round aimlessly with nothing to do." I looked at my watch again. "Right," I said, jumping to my feet. "Fifteen minutes is up soldier boy. Let's have fun with files." I smirked and walked out of the door.

We got to my office and I unlocked the door by using the finger scanner. "Be worried. My office is a mess." I pushed the door open and Steve furrowed his eyebrows.

"This isn't messy." He complimented, but I didn't believe him.

"Is it not?" I asked and looked round. My desk was tidy apart from a few stray folders and the floor was clean apart from a pile in the corner which I am sorting with Steve.

"I've seen worse offices." He said, smiling. I took him over to the pile and tiled him that he needs to help me sort this into two piles. Rubbish that needs to go in the bin and valuable files that I need to keep. There were at least 700 folders to sort. "Okay...so you want me to read the files out or something?" He asked.

"Umm...if they are Level 1 folders, they go in the rubbish pile. If they are level 6 and above give them to me. Most of then are level 1 though." This pile was pretty big. It might take an hour.

We spent the first couple of minutes chucking folders in the rubbish pile until level 6 and above files started coming up. Project Pegasus, HYRDA, even the Red Skull was a folder that Steve gave to me, but with hesitation. I could tell that he was tempted to open some of them. "You want to look don't you?" I asked and he sighed.

"I just want to see if there is anything that I missed." Steve said, defeated.

"There might be some low level information on it. I can look if you want?" I asked and stood up, brushing myself down slightly.

"Thank you." He said and I sat down at my desk. I went to the search box and typed in Red Skull.

 **LEVEL 8 CLEARANCE** came up on the screen. I looked at Steve who still looked upset and then back at the screen. _Why do I feel so sorry for him?_ Screw it. I typed in my login and the files came up. "Steve." I called and he came over. I got out of my seat so he could sit down.

"Thank you." He said, taking the seat.

"It's just a seat Rogers." I said, walking back over to the files.

"No." He said and I looked at him. "Thank you for everything." He said, his face filled with gratitude.

"That's alright." I replied and turned back to my work, after a couple of seconds looking at him. I picked up a folder, which read **A.I.M.** There was a subheading that read **Involvement with Mr. Tony Stark.**

 _Advanced Idea Mechanics was created as a think tank by Aldrich Killian. It's mandate was scientific research and development, but with limited funding and influenced, Killian needed to find sponsors to back his formative venture. On New Year's 1999, at a party in Bern, Switzerland, he approached billionaire industrialist Tony Stark and asked him for support. Tony fobbed off the advance, but his date for the night, the botanist Dr. Maya Hansen, did however accept Killian's contact details. As he was leaving Killian, Stark lied to him and told him he'd meet him on the roof. Killian made the ascent and waited, but Stark never came. The rejection changed Killian and had the effect of reshaping A.I.M. into something quite different to what it had been formed to accomplish._

I read further on in the article.

 _Stark confronts Killian and traps him in an Iron Man suit that self-destructs, but fails to kill him. Potts, whose Extremis powers allowed her to survive her fall, intervenes and kills Killian. Stark orders J.A.R.V.I.S. to destroy each Iron Man suit under Operation Clean Slate to devote more time to Potts._

We could've used Pepper's Extremis powers. She could've been an Avenger for Christ sakes, but I am happy that she is better and Tony is spending more time with her. I turned back to Steve as he was getting up and I shut the file.

"Nothing?" I asked and he shook his head annoyed.

"I knew everything that was mentioned on the file." he said, sitting back down with the huge pile of files.

"At least you looked."

"At least you gave me permission." he said, smiling. "And I am grateful."

"It was a pleasure to help." I smiled and looked back to the folders.

 **Centipede - Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.**

 _I already know enough about that._ I told myself, putting it to the side and picking up another.

 **Project Goliath** another folder read. I forgot about this. I looked up and noticed he was distracted by a folder. He was reading it. The front of the folder read **Project T.A.H.I.T.I** and the subtitle read two word... **Coulson's recovery.** _Oh shit..._

"Steve..." I said and he didn't tear his eyes away from the paper. "Steve!" I said, a little louder and his head slowly rose up, his eyes glistening with tears.

"Project T.A.H.I.T.I. was a high-level S.H.I.E.L.D. program, which began in 2009, created for the purpose of saving a mortally wounded Avenger." Steve said, reading the words from the page. "It was a Level 9 projected ordered by Director Nick Fury and overseen by Agent Phillip Coulson. It involved the harvesting of an alien corpse for medicinal purposes. After the Battle of Manhattan, Agent Coulson was registered on the T.A.H.I.T.I program as he was an Avenger...at heart." He glanced up at me. "What is file GH17-PC-overview?" he asked angrily.

"What are you talking about?"

"What am _I_ talking about?" he asked. "You've been keeping this from us the whole time. He's still alive Maria!"

"We couldn't tell you. What would you say? I don't even know what truly happened to him. You would tell us to stop the project."

"Yeah because it would be doing the right thing to do." he argued and went to the computer.

"We were trying to save you. It would be used as a last resort if you were dying. What are you doing?" I asked, walking over to the desk as he typed quickly into the search bar.

"I'm finding that file. GH17-PC-overview." he explained and located it easily. **Level 9 access requirement.** He looked up at me.

"Don't ask me for favours." I said, putting my hands up.

"Don't you want to find out too?" he asked and after a while I sighed in defeat. I was curious to find out what really happened. Coulson wasn't very open about the experience. He just said that it was a magical place. He never told me the full truth. I pushed him out of the way and typed in my login. The file came up and I pushed it onto the projection screen in my office. I turned the lights off so I could see the image.

 **CLASSIFIED LEVEL 10**

 **COMMUNICATION**

 **T.A.H.I.T.I. PROJECT SUPERVISOR**

 **TO DIRECTOR FURY  
**

 **FINAL REPORT**

There was a button at the bottom reading play and I said "JARVIS, play the video."

A familiar face came up on the screen - Phil. He was surrounded by darkness, wearing a suit as always. "I've never seen this before." I whispered to myself, but I think Steve heard me because I could see out of the corner of my eye him looking at me.

 **"Good Morning Director Fury,"** he began, his words filled with despair. **"I regret to inform you that I'm handing in my resignation. I know you brought me on to Project T.A.H.I.T.I. because you trusted my judgement, and it's that judgement that's telling me I can no longer, in my good conscious, let the testing continue."**

"What is this?" I asked, myself.

 **"I understand you started the program to potentially save a mortally wounded Avenger, but the side effects are too extreme."**

I heard about the side effects of T.A.H.I.T.I, but I didn't believe them. It was just gossip from the top agents...nothing real. Coulson looked so different. When I spoke to him, whilst he was with the other agents, he seemed to be okay. There was something he was hiding, but I didn't push at it. Phil let May do that.

 **"We had initial success with the regenerative properties of the guest-host tissue, but after the initial physical recovery, the subject began to deteriorate mentally, displaying hypergraphia, aphasia, catatonia, or just complete psychosis."**

This is what Coulson went through? His words were filled with such emotion and I could feel my heart breaking in my chest. He must have gone mad.

 **"We don't know if it was the biology at play or simply the awareness of what was done, but the only course of action that showed any promise of stemming these side effects was memory replacement – erasing completely the awareness of what they'd been through. And even those results were very inconsistent. To be clear, I'm recommending the termination of Project T.A.H.I.T.I. Under no circumstances should these procedures or drugs be administered to anyone ever. The cost is far too great. Thank you, sir."** He finished and I could do nothing, but freeze.

 **END OF TRANSMISSION**

How could he not tell me everything he has been though? I thought I was meant to be the closest person to him. I thought I even came before May. If there was one person he could talk to...then it could've been me.

"Hill." I heard Steve say and I slowly turned my head around. I could feel the tears streaming down my face, but I didn't care. "I forgive you for not telling us about him, Maria." he said, in understanding, but I wasn't sure why. "I'm gonna hug you. Is that okay?" he asked cautiously, however, I didn't respond. I just let him do it anyway. His strong arms wrapped around my delicate body as my small ones barely touched the sides of his stomach. I was not in the mood for hugging anyone, but this was comforting.

How could Coulson not tell me? He went on at me, because I wasn't open enough with people. He didn't open up to me about T.A.H.I.T.I. He said that he would tell me anything, but he lied about the project. He said that he was fine. He went on at me - all those accusations about isolating people - but he is isolating me. He is being so self-contradictory. I needed to tell Steve about what happened earlier before I could call Coulson.

"It was Coulson. Coulson was the one who spoke to me rudely earlier. He said that I was isolating myself too much and didn't have a heart." I explained and pulled away from him slowly. I wiped my tears and went back to the desk. "But he has some serious explaining to do." I said, angrily, strutting over to my desk.

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you don't watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. do. :) It's awesome! PLEASE REVIEW!**

 **tigerlillies-and-superheroes - Thank you so much for your review! Coulson will be featured in the future evident by the cliffhanger at the end of this chapter :) I love writing about him. I might do some Agents of Shield stuff if I get the chance.**

 **Spitfire303 - I know :( I feel sorry for her in the films as well as my chapters. Hopefully everything will turn out okay...hopefully.**

 **xnite05 - I know I was mean about Coulson :( He'll be in nicer in the future I hope :) I'm glad that you like the stories I write.**


	8. Protection

**Previously:**

 **"Hill." I heard Steve say and I slowly turned my head around. I could feel the tears streaming down my face, but I didn't care. "I forgive you for not telling us about him, Maria." he said, in understanding, but I wasn't sure why. "I'm gonna hug you. Is that okay?" he asked cautiously, however, I didn't respond. I just let him do it anyway. His strong arms wrapped around my delicate body as my small ones barely touched the sides of his stomach. I was not in the mood for hugging anyone, but this was comforting.**

 **How could Coulson not tell me? He went on at me, because I wasn't open enough with people. He didn't open up to me about T.A.H.I.T.I. He said that he would tell me anything, but he lied about the project. He said that he was fine. He went on at me - all those accusations about isolating people - but he is isolating me. He is being so self-contradictory. I needed to tell Steve about what happened earlier before I could call Coulson.**

 **"It was Coulson. Coulson was the one who spoke to me rudely earlier. He said that I was isolating myself too much and didn't have a heart." I explained and pulled away from him slowly. I wiped my tears and went back to the desk. "But he has some serious explaining to do." I said, angrily, strutting over to my desk.**

"What are you doing?" Steve asked me, leaning on the desk with his hand.

"Calling Coulson." I answered stoically. I clicked on the search box as Steve spoke up again.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? You've just found out about this."

"He got injected with this GH17 serum and he lied to my face about what it did to him. I think it's a brilliant idea." I replied, the machine finding his contact information. The contact popped up and I hovered over the call button. I turned my head to Steve and asked "Do you want to talk to him?"

He looked at me almost taken back for a moment. "Uh...sure." He replied and dragged a chair next to mine.

I clicked it and heard the dailing tone as SHIELD version of FaceTime, a better clearer version, came up on the screen. I looked at Rogers, slightly nervous, but my rage returned when Coulsons face came on the screen. "Maria, I am so sorry about earl-"

"Shut it. You had better have a god damn explanation for not explaining TAHITI properly." I said angrily, catching his attention. His eyes looked curiously at me and then he looked at Rogers.

"Steve?" He asked, a mixture of happiness and confusion in his voice. "I mean, Captain Rogers." He greeted formally.

"Hello Coulson and, please, Steve is fine."

"Well call me Phil th-"

"Please stop with the formalities.." I interrupted angrily.

"Okay. Maria, what is this about and why is Rogers not freaked out about the fact that I'm still alive?"

"I am freaked out." Steve muttered under his breath, but I ignored him.

"He has been filled in on the situation of your death. However, I was not filled in on the information contained in the video."

"What video?" He asked.

"GH17 dash PC." I shouted. "It's bullshit if you say it's for nothing to do with you, because your initials are on it." Phil looked down at the desk.

"How did you find out about that?" he sighed.

"It's on the God-damn file."

"Yeah! The one that I told you not to look beyond the first page at."

"I didn't. It was Steve." I shouted. Steve used the advantage of having a chair with wheels and slowly pushed himself out of the way of the screen. "He was helping me sort out some files. I didn't know he was going to read it." I said, flashing a quick look to Steve who was focused on me from the other side of the desk.

"He shouldn't have done that, but why did you even look at the video?" he said, trying to contain his anger.

"You didn't tell me what you went though. I cannot even think to imagine the pain." I explained to him. "The one person I thought told me everything and you lied. You told me that T.A.H.I.T.I didn't affect your mental health very much. I could've helped."

"We didn't want you getting hurt."

"We?"

"Me and Fury." He said quietly.

"Fury didn't fill me in?!" I asked...in a loud manner. "I'm meant to be the deputy. I may not have level 10 clearance Director, but I should've been told by you, May, someone!" I saw Rogers mouth 'director?' In the midst of my rant. Oh...I forgot he didn't know about the switch. I ignored him and continued shouting at coulson. "I'm meant to oversee everything. Every single thing. Not let anything slip past. Then how come I didn't realise that you had this problem. Did you really suffer from hypergraphia, aphasia and catatonia? Did you go insane? When they told me that you had died I was devastated, but they brought you back from the dead. When I asked you about it you said there were NO FUCKING SIDE EFFECTS! Why didn't you tell me?" I almost pleaded for answers.

He just shook his head and slowly drew his eyes up to the camera. "I'm sorry. You have more on your plate than the Director does. Me and Fury didn't want to put any more pressure on you."

"I can deal with pressure." I argued. "You know that I can. You just didn't want me to find out because you would be worried that I would spill some gossip. Or-"

"No of course n-"

"Have a mental breakdown or something."

"Not at all." Coulson debated.

"You couldn't trust me and I can't believe you would do that. Bye Coulson." I said and slammed the lid down before he could say another word.

I got up from my chair, only to wobble and cling into the desk for dear life. Steve instantly got up and carried me. "Just leave me by...the desk." I sniffled, our faces a little too close. He put me down and I slid down the back of the desk. "How could he not trust me? We practically have a father daughter relationship. Why would he keep these secrets from me?" I asked myself. "Coulson has always been there for me - my first mission, first injury, first breakdown, all my level upgrades, becoming deputy." I listed, looking into a corner of the office.

 **Flashback to first mission**

I was on my 326th crunch when Coulson walked through the door. I stopped mid crunch and supported my body with my arms on either side of my body pushing into the uncomfortable roll mat.

"What is it Coulson?" I asked, my breath only slightly ragged from the intensive exercise.

"You have a mission." He smiled. "Well done agent."

"Are you serious?" I asked, smiling slightly. I rolled back onto my palms and then pushed myself up, landing on my feet in a squat position.

"Director Fury believes that you are ready for field work." He said, smiling.

"Do you believe I am?" I asked.

"The question is..." He said, putting on his sunglasses. "Do you?" I didn't reply to that so he have me the details of the mission.

I had to steal a USB drive, that contained some kind of information from a billionaires mansion. I didn't mind that they didn't give me the details about what the information was, but I guessed it was nuclear codes or information about terrorists or something.

I only had an hour so I had a shower, got dressed into my battle dress and then went straight out of the door to the briefing room. As I walked down the corridor, I noticed many eyes on me in my red dress. It was a silky material and had a lace pearl back.

Barton walked past me and shouted "Looking hot, Hill." I smirked and rolled my eyes, but I could feel the faint blush rising on my cheeks. I got to the room and took a deep breath. I opened the door and saw Fury and Coulson sitting down discussing something.

"Director Fury. Agent Coulson." I greeted, walking through the room to sit down but he stopped me by holding up his hand signalling to stop walking.

"Guns?" Fury asked, eyebrow raised. I hitched my dress up slightly and showed him the gun placed in the holster strapped on my thigh. I proceeded to show him the other one on the other leg and pulled out a small pistol hidden in my cleavage.

Pushing it back in and he said "Good. Now, here is the floor plan." He explained my mission and then we went into a conversation about Romanoff. "I wanted to arrange a meeting between the two of you. She is new here and you two have both been through the same thing. I think it would be good for both of you." He explained.

I nodded and Fury asked Coulson "Tell Miss Romanoff about the meeting Coulson."

"I'll get Barton to do it." He said. "They get along the best."

"Do you and Romanoff not play well together?"

"No. She prefers me as her handler to anyone else, but they have something..." I could see him thinking about the particular word he needed to use to make it sound like they weren't sleeping together. "Irregular. Their connection is not romantic, but they trust one another."

Fury just nodded and jotted something down. "You may leave for your mission Agent Hill. Car 86 is waiting for you outside." He said and I left immediately, along with Coulson who was dismissed also.

"Car 86?" I asked him. "Never heard that one before. How many are there?"

"Even I don't know. I've heard that there are over 1000."

"What's the highest you've been in?"

"Car 752."

"Wow. Maybe he does have a thousand." I pondered. We continued to talk about pointless topics until we reached the foyer. I turned to him and thanked him for walking with me.

"That's alright. You'll love the driver by the way. Good luck." He said and started to walk away. "Not that you'll be needing it." He commented, looking over backwards whilst disappearing down the corridor. Even when he doesn't realise it, he is always a good friend."

I walked out and saw Clint holding the door of the car open. "Madam." He said in a posh British accent, bowing down to me.

"Sir." I said and smiled. "You coming on the mission?" I asked. I wasn't filled in about it.

"Nah I just wanted to see you off."

"Coulson is looking for you." I said to him and got in the car.

"Better avoid him then." He smirked and shut the door. "Take care of her Agent Gregory." He said to the driver. He smiled and waved at me and I waved back to him. Even though I haven't known Clint for that long, I feel like I can trust him. Coulson definitely trusts him and he seems to have a secret to hide, but not the bad kind. Of course I would never ask, because that would be invading his privacy, but hopefully one day I will get closer to him as a friend - Agent Romanoff can get closer to him as something a bit more than a friend I thought in my head.

The car moved forward and I had to hold onto the door handle. "I'm sorry if the speed it alarming ma'am." The driver said, noticing that I was holding onto the door for dear life. "We have to get there as soon as possible, as the meeting with the Director caused lateness to your mission." I just nodded and looked out of the window nervoulsy. I tapped my fingers against the door and breathed out deeply.

"Nervous?" the driver asked, looking at me in the mirror.

"First mission." I said back to him, making it clear how I felt about it.

"Ah I've had many of those before. I can remember every agent that has sat inside this car that has had a first mission."

"Really?" I asked, trying to get my mind off the mission.

"Yep. Every. Single. One." he said, turning right down a junction.

"Prove it." I said, not really believing him.

"What? List all the agents?" he asked and I nodded in the mirror, so he could see me. "Okay so...in chronological order…" he said, smirking. "Agent Blugging, Jameson, Coulson, Adders-"

"Coulson?" I asked. "You did Coulson's first mission?"

"He was a nervous wreck! Shaking and everything. I nearly called up Fury telling him to cancel the mission. But look where he is now." he said smiling. I thought about Coulson sweating and trying to fan himself as he fretted over his first mission. How long has this guy been here? "Anyway, Adderson, Gregory, Walker, Hinklemen, Bason and Barton."

"You did Barton too?"

"Yep. You know him?"

"He was one of the people who introduced me here. He's been training me sometimes as well."

"Well, I know that you will be fine on your mission then. He came in here, his cocky face beeming, and didn't seem to have any nerves."

"Sounds like him." I whispered and then thought about how long he had been there for. "Hang on, i'm your first agent in how long? When was Barton's first mission."

"Five years ago. You are my first 'First mission' agent in five years." he said. "And you will do fine. Trust me." he said, trying to give me some re-assurance.

"Thanks." I said, smiling at him, but I still had a little bit of doubt. I was trained to be calm and focused in every situation, but I was never given the serum Romanoff was. I'm not emotionless...I try very hard to be, but sometimes I just let loose. Hopefully in the future, I will have some...hopefully.

I arrived two minutes away from the mansion and he stopped the car. I put my earpiece in and stepped out of the car, purse in hand. "It cannot be traced back to us," he said, through the winded down window. "so you're on your own now kid. Keep in contact with base. Good luck." he finished, smiling, and drove off. Who knew S.H.I.E.L.D had a form of taxi service?

I walked towards the mansion, which was in the middle of nowhere, and saw the big gates at the entrance. "Remember your character, Charlotte. Act like you own the place, so no one will suspect you when you go snooping." Clint said, through comms.

"You are the person who is doing my communications?" I asked, smiling slightly.

"Yep. That a problem?" he asked, nervously.

"Not at all. I would only be happy with you or Coulson at the time being." I smiled. "Anyway, I'm entering the mansion now."

"Have fun Ria." he said, jesting. I rolled my eyes and sauntered up to the entrance. "Charlotte Wilding." I said, to the guard who was controlling who was going in and out of the building. I looked at the building and recognised its similarity to the blueprints and photographs.

"Yes. I've found your name. Welcome to the house of Mr. Paul Basford - billionaire." he said, faking a smile and adding the word billionaire to make his employer seem less like the bastard he is.

I walked up the drive and noticed the Lamborghini's lined up in the car parking area. There was one couple kissing outside, some women smoking some kind of illegal drug I'm sure and other men at the entrance talking to one another, but once I came to the main entrance their eyes landed on me, causing the girl who was kissing the man to slap him. That must've been painful. I said, hearing the slap from where I was at least 20 metres away from them.

I ascended the staircase to the door and the butlers opened them for me. Lights were flashing everywhere, girls sexily dancing with their partners talking to one another at the side of the rooms. I must say, if I wanted to be a billionaire then I would definitely purchase a house like this. White walls, decorated in small flowery designs, vases that were at least a thousand pounds and famous signatures, including the President of America, posted in photo frames around the walls, showing off his wealth and power over others. _Right, stop sight seeing and mind on the mission._

"Go up the stairs." Clint said over comms. Ascending the staircase, I noticed men looking at me lustfully and the girls glaring at me. I coughed into my hand and subtly said "They're all staring at me." without anyone noticing.

"That's because you look like a sex godess." Clint said, jesting, and I could feel the blush pushing off my face. I coughed again and said "Bastard" under my breath.

"At the top of the stairs, that you are coming to now, turn left and go to the end of the corridor."

"Got it." I whispered and followed his instructions. People stared at me as I walked down the corridor, but I shook off their looks. Glancing out of the window, I noticed only one guard at every 100 metres of the compound. _Possible escape route if I don't get out properly._

Once I turned left, on route to the end of the corridor, I noticed two guards standing on either side of the door at the end of the corridor.

"Yeah, you'll have to knock those two out." Clint said, through the comms. He had a thermal reading at the control centre, so he could warn me about possible threats. As I approached the door, one of the guards looked at the other. They nodded at each other and the first one started walking towards me.

"Ma'am this is a restricted area. That means you cannot be here." he said, holding up his hand at me.

"Oh I know." I said, smiling and I swiped his feet from underneath him. The other one pulled out his gun and pointed it at me. I did a cartwheel down the corridor and then ran up a cabinet, jumping off of it onto the guard as he shot at me. My thighs wrapped around his neck and did a 540 degree turn, knocking him out. I landed on my feet and saw the other guard start to regain consciousness. I ran over and punched him in the face, before putting both men in a nearby storage cabinet.

I walked back to the door and asked Clint, in a hushed tone, "Any people behind the door?"

"None at all." Clint said. "The main man is at the party."

"Good." I said and twisted the door knob. I groaned, realising that it was locked, but pulled out a hairpin from my hair. I snapped it in half, placed the tension wrench into the bottom part of the lock, applying slight pressure with my thumb to stabilise it, and then inserted the pick the the top of the lock. I wiggled it slightly and smiled as I heard the click of the lock, opening the door.

I swept into the office, going straight over to the computer, and quickly looked through all of his drives, next to his desk that he had arranged in a CD storer. I found the label for it and picked it out. Shoving the drive into my purse, I made my way to the door, but was interrupted by Clint before I could leave. "Wait! He is coming straight for you."

"How long?"

"Fifteen seconds, max!" he stressed. I ran towards the nearest window and opened it, the freezing cold air making my body shiver as I put my leg though the gap. I attached a grappling hook to the top of the wall and then pulled the rest of me through, before abseiling down the side of the building. I snapped the hook back and put in back in my purse.

I smirked and walked back to the gates where I came in at. I walked past the guards, smiling as I went, and strutted outside to the car that was waiting for me about two minuets away. I let out a breath of relief as I stepped inside the car and had a chat with the driver again on the way back about how I found it. Phil asked a similar question later, after the de-briefing.

"Nobody died." I said.

"That's a good start." he said, smiling, and took a swig of his beer. We were in my facility, which wasn't very decorative thinking about it. Very white and plain and clear surfaces, but that is how I like it.

"I think that it wasn't much of a challenge."

"It's pretty exciting for a first mission. Not may people get to abseil down a building." He thought about it for a second. "Actually, thinking about it, that's what most people do when their mission goes wrong."

We sat in silence for a couple of minutes, before he spoke again. "I did." Phil said, smiling, and I got confused.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I did believe that you could do it. I did since I first picked you up from that cell." I flinched inside from the memory slightly. "You always had it in you. The only thing that you don't have is heart."

"We weren't programmed to have heart."

"Then switch the channel." He said and I smirked.

"It's not that easy." I replied and we went into a conversation about my good communication with the agent based at S.H.I.E.L.D.

 **End of flashback**

"Did you not think that he might be trying to protect you?" Steve said. "He knows how much he means to you. Maybe something like this would've been too much."

"I'm fine." I insisted.

"No you're not." Steve said, sitting on the floor next to me. "You will be though." He reassured me as he put his arm around me.

 **Hope you liked the chapter :) PLEASE REVIEW! Thank you for reading!**


	9. Cards Close To The Chest

**Previously:**

 **"Did you not think that he might be trying to protect you?" Steve said. "He knows how much he means to you. Maybe something like this would've been too much."**

 **"I'm fine." I insisted.**

 **"No you're not." Steve said, sitting on the floor next to me. "You will be though." He reassured me as he put his arm around me.**

We sat there for a while, just taking in the silence of the room. A lot had happened today. Pretending to have a fear of spiders, the newspaper, Scott arriving, training at a level 8 standard, Stark teasing me, talking with Steve about my nickname and the article about me, Steve and Natasha, the argument with Phil, talking with Stark about the jokes, sitting with Steve on the balcony and discussing my 'feelings', sorting out S.H.I.E.L.D files with Steve, him finding out about Coulson and us finding out about T.A.H.I.T.I, Coulson on the video chat. And I still had to train with Wanda.

"I need to go." I said to Steve, my head resting on his shoulder.

"Why?" He said, sadly.

"I have training with Wanda." I said and looked at my watch. "I have fifteen minutes. I need to get change and set everything up for her."

"What do you do with her?" Steve queried.

"She tests her elevation powers with me, experimental flying is with Vision, and she uses my mind as a practice."

"Do you mind that?" He asked. "Someone intruding your brain?" I don't know what he thought of when he was zapped with her powers, but I am curious about it. I do want to find out, but I can't just straight up and asked him, because we are not that close to each other. I have two theories: 1. It was to do with Peggy Carter or 2. It was to do with Bucky. Both are probable. I can see in his eyes that both situations destroyed parts of his soul. He will never be the same person as he was. Obviously I didn't know him back in 1945, but I just...I've seen the photos of him in the past. His demeanor is different. When he went into that ice, he came out a changed man. I read Peggy Carter's file. She was an SSR agent, one of the founders of S.H.I.E.L.D along with Howard Stark, Tony's father. She was strong, confident, the perfect woman from all I could gather. How could anyone be as good as she was? Sometimes I find it hard to believe that he can survive it. He said that he has nightmares, but what are they about. How come he has not been driven to madness? I cannot imagine the heartbreak both of them felt when they realised that they would never see each other again, but Steve realising seventy years after Peggy did. The pain must be excruciating sometimes. Bucky was another issue. When I saw him, during the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D, I knew that it was the same face that I saw all those years back. I met Bucky, like Natasha did, a couple of years ago on a mission, which I only managed to get out alive from. The time I spent taking him down with Steve showed me how much weaker Barnes had become. He had hollow eye sockets, more bruises and his eyes had lost even more spirit. HYDRA were breaking him by using the brainwashing. Bucky not being able to remember Steve must have been hard for both of them, especially Steve. Bucky was confused, but Steve had the memories. I could see the pain he felt when he didn't recognise him. The only reason why he didn't break down is because he is such a strong person. It's what makes him a good team leader.

"I don't mind. We do stuff unrelated to my personal life or at least we try to avoid it." I answered, returning to the point of discussion instead of asking him about his personal life.

"Does it hurt?" he asked, getting up off of the floor.

"No, I don't feel any pain." I replied, joining his level.

"I didn't mean physically. I meant emotionally."

"Oh...no. I mean, sometimes she accidentally crosses a line, but that is only by mistake. My mental state is fine Rogers." I replied with strength in my tone, trying not to sound broken...I cannot be broken. I was trained to remain powerful.

"As long as you are both comfortable then it is okay." Steve replied, walking towards the door. He opened it for me and I smiled. "Can I ask you a question?" he asked.

"Um...yeah. Sure." I replied, unsteadily. _What is this about?_

"Do you really have a fear of spiders or was it about something else?" he asked.

"The latter." I replied, but I moved on quickly so we wouldn't have to talk about that 'something else'. "I'm not really afraid of anything. What about you?" I asked, walking down the corridor with him.

"The fear of losing people I guess.." he said, feeding his hand through his hair. "Since waking up from the ice, my fear has grown."

"That's only natural." I replied, trying to comfort him. "I mean, having a whole new set of people, a whole new environment. It must've been hard for you."

He looked at the direction we were heading in. There was a door up ahead but I could sense that if he looked at me directly and told me the truth he would break down into tears. "At the start maybe...I didn't know who I was, no idea what to do with my life now that the war was over." He explained. I could almost see the memories flashing over his eyes. "But S.H.I.E.L.D gave me a place in the world. A new purpose that meant I wasn't useless."

I smiled smally and said "It's good that you have found something good here. Whether it be the job or the people who you are working with."

"I think it is a mixture of both." he replied, returning the smile as we arrived at the living room. His smile always lightened up my day somehow. It was so pure and truthful that it made you realise how lucky you were to have him in your life. In the living room, Rhodey and James were playing some kind of card game, whilst Vision observed their interactions. I am not sure whether he had the thought processes of a human. I always wondered whether Wanda understood him more than most, because it certainly appeared that way.

"Hey guys!" James said, smiling, putting three cards down on the table and one on a pile.

"FUCK YOU JAMES!" Sam shouted, throwing down the rest of the cards.

"Rummy?" I asked and they nodded.

"Such a stupid game." he continued.

"You said that you loved it five minutes ago." Vision argued.

"Five minutes ago I was winning."

"Anyway, I am going to go and get ready for meeting Wanda?"

"Wanda?" Vision asked. "Are you training with her?"

"Yes, I have been doing it for a couple of days over the past few weeks." I replied and he looked...sad, if androids could even be sad. "Is there a problem with that?"

"No, no problem at all." he replied. What was the connection between those two? I think I would talk about it with Wanda tonight.

"Oh Cap!" Falcon called, shuffling the cards in his hands. "There is a new article in the paper."

"Where is it?" Steve asked, a slight urgency in his voice. I felt sorry for him getting all this grief. The others didn't get so much. Natasha and Clint's assassin information was splattered all over the internet, so that didn't really occur in the newspaper, Thor was only mentioned if his muscles were being discussed, Vision, Wanda, James and Sam were pretty new and didn't get much press, Hulk is brought up when he destroys something and I am mostly mentioned when Steve is. Tony is a completely different story. He gets mentioned on a daily basis either about his love life, his suits or a combination of the two.

"Kitchen." he replied and I followed Steve into the room, seeing as I needed to get a drink. However, I was slightly curious as to what the report said.

It was about me and Steve again. I don't think people understand that we are not an item. Steve isn't attracted to me and I am not attracted to him. _Stop lying to yourself._

"I cannot believe this keeps happening. I am so sorry."

"Why are you apologising?" I asked. He has nothing to be sorry for.

"I did not know that the media would involve you so much with my life. Why would they even make the connection that you and I are dating?"

"I don't know." I answered. "Maybe a rumour started. I mean, that image of us at the restaurant isn't a good starting point." I took a glass from the cupboard and poured out some water to me to take to my room while I would get dressed to go and see Wanda.

"Do you think it will continue?" he asked, nervously.

"If I am completely honest with you, I don't know. I do not know how you would change the story to distract them."

"I will think of something." he said and I nodded at him, leaving him in the kitchen to come up with some kind of plan that would fill up the media to make them stop shipping Captain Hill. We even had a hashtag. As all these thoughts raced through my mind, I noticed my strides get more firm against the ground and I softened my movements when I realised how loud I was being. I paced down the corridor, minding the noise from my feet, and entered my room. I got a black sports top and a pair of shorts from the wardrobe and put them on. I did a couple of stretches before leaving for the training room that I was going to meet Wanda in. "JARVIS, inform Wanda that I will be in training room 3 in five minutes."

"Of course, Miss Hill." he replied. I walked down the corridor and stopped off at the living room, where Steve had now joined the others playing cards. "Who's winning now?" I asked.

James glared at me. "I now also hate this game."

"I will take it that Steve is in the lead." I gathered from the frustrated expressions of the others.

"As always." Sam added, pouting slightly.

"Still beating you in the running races?" I asked. The answer was an angry glare from him. Steve just smiled sweetly at me and then looked back at his hand.

"See you later Ria." he called.

"Don't call me Ria, Samuel." I said, face stern, and spun round on the spot to exit through the doors. I walked to the gym to find Wanda waiting outside. "You don't need to wait for me. You can just go inside and start training without me if you wish."

She laughed nervously and replied "I'm sorry. I have gotten use to a certain way of life." Her accent was strong and I got the impression that she felt disconnected from the group, not just because she spoke differently to everyone. "HYDRA ordered us around strictly. We could not go where we wished. There were restrictions."

We walked into the training room and I replied "Well, there aren't many restrictions here. Information is a slight restriction, however, the rooms are all accessible to you."

"Thank you. You have treated me with such kindness over the past couple of weeks."

"It's my pleasure. You are an Avenger after all." I smiled, but she frowned slightly.

"It was never my plan to be one. I always thought that I would die in combat before I had the chance to change."

"With your abilities, you have a low probability of dying."

"Unfortunately, Pietro...did not have the same trait." she replied, using hesitation when it came to speaking his name. Everyone could tell that she missed him. I often saw her sitting on the grass, leaning against the outside wall, looking at a photo of him. Sometimes she does it in the living room, in the kitchen...she found it difficult to grasp the fact that he was no longer alive. His gravestone was at Sokovia, so she often booked flights over there. Vision accompanied her occasionally to 'keep her safe', but I think he feels a little bit of guilt over the death of Pieto. Maybe he is there to comfort her, but I believe that Vision experiences guilt. The guilt of not being able to kill Ultron sooner.

"Your brother died protecting the people of Sokovia, protecting Clint and protecting that child. He did what was right. He wouldn't have wanted you to get dragged back by his death."

"I know." she replied, a light sheen of tears across her eyes. "I am just having a hard time accepting it."

"It may be difficult right now, but believe me...you'll find a way to heal." I knew that I had no idea what I was talking about. I had experienced pain...so much of it, but I was never fully cured. Some nights I would scream and feel a little bit of relief, but how could I feel complete when my life was destroyed. Nobody even knows my real name. How can I trust any of them with my personal information? "Anyway, lets get on with training."

We positioned ourselves a couple of feet apart from each other and we started sparring as soon as the word "Go!" left my lips. We did this for approximately half an hour before stopping because Wanda was out of breath and we needed to save some of that energy for the next stage.

"I know we have been through a word, a number and a set of numbers, but today I would like to try a sentence. Ready?" She nodded and we stepped away from each other. Wanda's powers allowed her to read minds from a short range, but in training we would try a longer distance. I was on the other side of the room, about 100 metres away. **Only those who train can achieve greatness.**

"Only….those who...train c-can…can…." She grunted with anger of not being able to find the last couple of words.

"Calm your mind. Breathe." I instructed and she did. **Only those who train can achieve greatness.**

"Only those who train can...achieve greatness." she smiled and opened her eyes. "Was that it?"

"Congratulations. That was the correct sentence."

"Thank you." she replied and I could see her smile from where I was standing.

"Lets try some more." I shouted and thought out some more sentences. I thought of trying some questions this time, so that she could answer them by speaking.

 **I just want to ask you a couple of questions to see if they translate properly.**

"Okay." she replied after a couple of seconds to understand.

 **What is your name?**

"Wanda Maximoff." she answered.

 **Repeat these numbers. 39571**

"3,9,4,7,1." she replied and I registered the fact that she answered quicker than last time. Her powers were getting better by the second.

 **Walk three steps back.** She followed my orders and took three steps away from me. "Very good!" I shouted and started walking towards her. She took the hint and met me at the middle of the training area. "Now, I want you to try and transmit thoughts into my mind."

"I'm better with images rather than actual thoughts."

"Well, this is why we are here." I said, gesturing to the surroundings. "To expand your abilities." She nodded and readied herself.

"Are you sure that you want to do this?" Wanda asked me, still nervous about manipulating my mind.

"Yes, I am sure. Just don't dig too deep. I'll try and block my most personal memories so that you can pray off of the weakest. Everything'll be fine. Try your best to plant an idea in my mind. Anything that you want, preferably unrelated to the Avengers." She nodded and I could see the red start to flow in her hands. The energy made its way towards me and I could feel it wrap around my arms, up my neck and around my head. It tickled the hairs on my head as the energy almost felt like liquid surrounding it. My mind was blank and I couldn't even think about any of my memories. All I saw was red when I closed my eyes.

Some words came into my head. **Sell** was the only word I could figure out in the sentence she was trying to give me. The rest were just whispers. She withdrew the energy, recognising that I didn't get the message, and I opened my eyes. My vision slowly re-emerged from the clouds and I said "The only word I got from that was sell."

Wanda laughed slightly. As she stopped, she smiled slightly. "My brother and I, we used to sell clothes in Sokovia as cheaply as we could. That was the sentence I was trying to say."

"Do you miss that life?" I asked.

"Selling clothes? Pietro flirted with everyone and they all liked us, me a little more than Pietro. He was a troublemaker." she smirked, her accent bleeding through her words, probably because she was revisiting the memories of their home country. "He had always been so full of life, never stopped to think. Stark was going to name him Quicksilver. Quick tempered, quick speed...quick life…seems...seemed to suit him." she thought aloud. "When they brought in his body…" She gulped before continuing. "I realised that his life had just been taken from him by a couple of bullets. How could something that small end a life?" she asked, tears forming in her eyes. "End his life? He was my brother."

"I'm not expecting you to forget everything. We have all had loses. How we deal with them is the thing that matters. Never forget, chose to forgive instead of taking revenge and regretting everything."

She nodded and wiped her eyes. "Thank you." she said quietly and hugged me. I was slightly taken back from the gesture, but hugged her back regardless.

"That's alright." I replied. We were interrupted by someone at the door. I turned around and saw Vision standing there.

"We'll be there in a minute." Wanda smiled at him and he nodded before leaving the both of us.

"What are you talking about?" I asked her, confused as to what just happened.

"Vision said that Steve is calling a meeting in the living room in five minutes."

"How come you know that? He didn't say anything."

"He...er….he didn't have to." she admitted. I could see her cheeks tinge red slightly and I furrowed my eyebrows.

"He can send messages to you?"

"I think it is something to do with the mind stone. I wanted to tell you, but I know how busy you have been." she smiled.

"You two have private conversations without the team knowing?" I asked and she looked at me guiltily.

"Yes."

"That's fine. As long as I don't hear your romantic messages it is fine." I said and she blushed.

"We are not dating." she said and I raised an eyebrow.

"Whatever you say." I replied and started walking towards the door.

"Maria, are you okay?" she asked, stopping me before I reached the door.

"Yeah, I am fine. Why do you ask?"

"I can...feel your pain. When I look into your mind, I can sense the darkness hidden in the back of your mind. I can't access it, but that's what i'm worried about." she said. _Why can't she just shut up?_ "Whatever is hidden in the back of your mind, it can't be good. You need to tell someone, whatever it is."

"Stop it." I warned. No one is finding out about my name.

"Hill, I can tell that something is going on that you are not telli-"

"I SAID STOP IT!" I shouted at her angrily. I pushed her out of the way of the doors and stormed towards the living room. I got there quicker than I thought and anger surged through me as I pushed the doors open. Everybody turned to look at me as the door hit the wall and when I shut the door behind me I noticed a dent in the wall from where the handle had gone into it.

"She-hulk?" Tony asked and Bruce rolled his eyes.

"Don't start Tony." Steve warned, which calmed me and my heart rate slightly.

I sat down on a sofa next to Thor and watched as Wanda walked through the doors. Steve looked from me to Wanda to me again. You didn't need a mind reader to tell that he suspected something was up.

 **Thank you for the reviews! Please keep writing them! I really want to know how I can improve and stuff :)**


	10. Shield

**Previously:**

 **Everybody turned to look at me as the door hit the wall and when I shut the door behind me I noticed a dent in the wall from where the handle had gone into it.**

" **She-hulk?" Tony asked and Bruce rolled his eyes.**

" **Don't start Tony." Steve warned, which calmed me and my heart rate slightly.**

 **I sat down on a sofa next to Thor and watched as Wanda walked through the doors. Steve looked from me to Wanda to me again. You didn't need a mind reader to tell that he suspected something was up.**

"Mission in central Manhattan. About twenty HYDRA agents 43rd street."

"I'll do it." Stark volunteered.

"Me too."

"That eager to join me?" Tony smiled and I glared daggers at him. However, I was grateful that he didn't use my nickname.

"Lang, I want you there too, just to give you a test run, and Wanda I need you to help evacuate the people in the area where the bomb is." Wanda was coming on this mission?

"Alright." Lang nodded and smiled excitedly, but then changed his expression. "Hang on...did you just say that there is a bomb involved?"

"Yes, HYDRA is placing a bomb in 43rd street and we need to make sure that no civilians are harmed at the least. Scott I want you to diffuse the bomb."

Lang went wide-eyed and didn't even reply. "Banner will be here helping you diffuse it." Steve added and his expression eased...slightly. "We will be going undercover on this assignment. Dress in normal civilian clothes until we are ready to strike, then reveal the suit that you will be wearing underneath. We will be taking a car stacked with weapons, so meet me in the garage once you are suited up. We may know there are HYDRA agents on the street, but the others don't. Just act normal. I shall explain the rest on the way."

We nodded, I flicked my eyes to a tearful eyed Wanda for a second. _Just focus on the mission right now. Deal with her later._ We all walked back to our rooms but before I entered mine, Steve stopped me. "Look, I think you becoming an Avenger is a brilliant idea. I could talk about it with the others if you want?" He asked. I wish I could but I don't deserve to be that kind of celebrated person, especially not after the history that I've had.

"I don't want to become one." I said, but even I didn't believe in the words I was saying.

"We both know that you are lying. What's the real reason?" He asked and I shook my head

"I don't deserve that status." I said and quickly walked into my room before he could persuade me any further. I breathed out slowly and then walked over to my dresser. I gazed at my catsuit, one similar to Romanoffs, and stroke the right shoulder of it. Thinking about the proposition, I rubbed my thumb over the patch of material where the Avengers symbol would be if I was going to be an Avenger.

Sighing, I took the suit off of the hook and changed into it. I tied up my hair with my favourite hairband. No colours or pretty little patterns made it my favourite. It was a jet black hairband with no indentations. I had had it for the past 5 years and it fit my hair perfectly - it is so irritating when it is just a little small or big.

I grabbed some guns of my weapons walls and made sure I had enough ammo if needed. I looked in my wardrobe and realised that I had only v neck tops. Great. My suit already has extra padding. How are my boobs gonna look in this? I put on a black v neck and then put on some not too tight skinny jeans, just in case I needed to kick someone's ass. I looked in the mirror and I didn't care about the fact that my cleavage was bigger than Romanoffs! I was here to do a mission.

I went to join Steve on the roof only to find Wanda and Vision having a conversation in the kitchen. Wanda turned her back to me so I couldn't see what she was doing and Vision realised what she was turning her back to. His eyes met mine and he didn't nod or smile like he usually did when he saw me. He took Wanda through a nearby door and from that moment onward I realised that they were all starting to dislike me and my methods. I also knew that it would turn out like this - everyone turning against me. I bring so much hate into this world without knowing it and that hate is directed at one person - me.

 _What's the point of being here anymore?...no one would miss me. Not one single God damn Avenger, human, species. I hurt them all the time. I'm worried about getting too close, because if I get too close i'll mess it up like usual and then I'll cause more hate and I won't be able to take it and I can't take it properly anyway and it's too much for me to take. I hate living like this. No one knows my real name and no one ever will. I can't even have a real fucking name anymore. I am nothing. Nothing to Steve, nothing to Coulson, nothing to everyone. I thought that I could act...put on this persona of someone who was passionate and truthful, but how can I do that when even my name is a lie?_

"Maria!" someone shouted from behind me. _This is exactly what I mean._ "Scott and Cap are waiting in the garage." Tony said smiling and walked towards the elevator. He was wearing some very casual clothes and a moustache that made him look like his father actually. Tony had to go undercover, because too many people would recognise him by his face and clothes. I quickly hurried so that I could catch the elevator, because it started to descend. "So…" he started. "what is the honest review of the new insect?"

"I think he's a valid member to the team."

"And?" he asked.

"And what? That's it."

"No, I mean him as a person, not him as an Avenger."

I thought about it for a minute before answering "Scott is a very likeable character and he has a family that he cares about. I can tell just by observing the way he acts that he is protective over his family. It is what drives him to fight. His attachments make him fight better."

"See! Attachments are good. It is still a shit name though." he smiled. "You should take what you are saying and observe yourself. We all know that you're digging for Capsicle, so just kiss him and get over it."

"Not even having this conversation Stark." I said, looking at the top of the elevator to see how many floors we had left before I could escape the company of Tony.

"Spoilsport." Tony commented, sulking slightly, as the elevator doors opened. Me and Tony walked out together, the monster and the scientist, and saw Steve standing there with Scott, who had now gotten used to the fact that Captain America was still alive. They were both next to a classic black vehicle that we would be riding in.

"Hey guys." Scott smiled. Wanda didn't even look at me...so I won't look at her. We will discuss it after we have finished the mission, not before.

"Hi" I replied and Tony smiled slightly at him. "Everything set up?"

"Yep, all ready to go." Steve said.

"Great. Lets get out of here." Tony said, opened the door and climbed into the car. He jumped into the front from the back seats though which was most peculiar, but Stark is a very irritating and unexplainable person. Wanda went into the front with him as soon as she realised that I was getting into the back of the car.

"Tony is a gentleman." I sarcastically told Scott and climbed into the car when Scott opened the door for me. "Thank you." I said as I shuffled along the seat to the middle one, because Steve was in the other side. I was crushed between a super soldier and an ant. This is not what I imagined I would be doing when I joined S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Anybody want any music?" Tony asked from the front. I could see the driver trying to ignore Tony because he was being a dick.

"I don't really want any-" I said, but got interrupted by 'The Real Slim Shady' by Eminem. "Nevemind." I said and leant back against the seat sighing. We didn't talk much on the way. We went over the plan a bit, but the car was rushing through the streets to get to the scene anyway, so we didn't have much time to discuss anything. I looked out the window, but my eyes went to Steve's. I had never seen them this close. Mens eyes were my weak point if I am honest.

I smiled smally to be polite, but then looked back out of the window again. He turned his head to look outside too, almost as to find what I was looking at.

We were dropped off one by one at different points in the same locations, so it didn't look connected. Steve was dropped off first. I waved a tiny goodbye and he shut the door as he smiled back at me. I felt a little flutter in my chest, but I shook it off.

"Are you alright?" Scott asked, his voice wavering slightly.

"Yeah, I'm good. You?" I asked, telling that he was nervous about his first mission with us.

"Yeah, yeah. I mean I'm f-fine." he answered, but then shook his head. "I sound so convincing don't I?"

"You need a little practise in lying Lang."

"Please, call me Scott." he replied. "And I need a lesson in a lot of other things too. Physical mostly."

"We should call in Hope Pym. You seem to get along well with her and she trains you well."

He smiled. "Really?"

"I'll ask the others later." I said as the car stopped again.

"This is you Ria." Stark said and I opened the door.

"Don't call me that." I snapped and shut the door. It wasn't as bad as Agent Chill or the other nicknames, but Ria? REALLY?

I began to walk around the block, occasionally looking at clothes to try and fit in with the crowd. Blending in is the key to being undercover. All these different people carelessly walking around not knowing that there is a threat in the area. Steve explained on the way that the agents were here to set up a bomb that would go off in the next twenty minutes. We needed to locate where the bomb was placed and evacuate the area.

Imagine a life without S.H.I.E.L.D. It wouldn't exist for me. It is all I have, it is all I'm good at and it is all I ever will be good at. I've grown up around all of this violence and I couldn't even think about a city life. Just living in a flat with a man and a dog and furniture - furniture that doesn't secretly contain a gun and knives. I watched as a family went past. A man who had a Jack Wills blue jumper on, black trousers and a pair of trainers. He looked about thirty two, whereas his wife looked a little older at about thirty four. She was wearing a white scarf, gold woven into it, a leather jacket over her white lace crop top, a pair of high waisted blue skinny jeans along with a pair of black wedged combat boots. They had two boys with them who were most likely twins analysing at their faces. All of them were smiling and laughing about something, probably something irrelevant and silly if it made the children laugh, but it made me think about how I'll never have children. The serum Romanoff was injected with get to me, but I wouldn't have them if I had the choice. They went past and I felt a shiver run through me from the cold air even though I had my cover clothes on.

"Hill, come in!" I heard Steve's voice key in over the earpiece.

"What is it? Problem?" I asked subtly.

"You just weren't responding. Everything okay?" he asked.

"Fine." I replied sternly. "Have the guards been taken out by Stark?"

"Nearly." I looked round and saw Tony dealing with the last guard along this street. Many of the agents were undercover, but we knew that there were four at each corner of the street to keep watch. I heard Tony mention something about the person being drunk and that's why they were now sprawled out on the floor. The street was busy so the other agents would not notice their absence. Additionally, they had ranks, so the agents would not care about people as low as guards.

"The perimeter has been set up." he said and I saw him attach something to the wall of the corner as I 'browsed' a clothes stall. "Any agent that comes out of each section will be recognised."

"Banner, you ready?" Steve asked.

"All set." I heard him reply through the earpiece.

I could only see Wanda sneakily releasing the red mist to plant the idea that they needed to leave. Slowly and unsuspiciously people started to file out of the street. Tony had gone God knows where and Steve was walking round like me I think.

"I can see the package." Clint's voice came through the comms. He was looking through the CCTV so that we had a birds eye view. "Maria, 2 o'clock. Steve, 1 o'clock, Tony, 11 o'clock and Antman and Wanda your 4 o'clock."

"I see him and the package." Scott said after a moment of searching. I didn't look to make sure that we didn't look like a team trying to get involved with the bomb plot.

"Antman, you're up." Steve said. I heard Scott breath out before carrying on with the mission. He was meant to go small, crawl inside of the bomb, find the switches and then follow instructions set by Bruce if the bomb were to be switched on. He would have to diffuse a bomb. Good first mission.

"Nearly there." Scott replied, however I think the guards began to get suspicious as two of them looked towards me. I sneered at them, like any other New Yorker would and turned around.

"Wanda, slow down. They are getting suspicious."

"Shut up Ice Queen. You don't want these people at safety?" she spat, almost implying that I wanted them to be in danger.

"That isn't what I meant and you know it."

"What do I know about you huh? Nothing. None of us do." she said and I could tell that she was getting angrier.

"Stop it." Steve finally said. "Deal with that afterwards. Scarlet Witch, slow down the process of removal they are getting indeed suspicious."

I looked round and saw Wanda glare at me before looking at a stall to take her mind off things. There was a long silence between everyone, because they probably wondered what had happened between me and Wanda in the training room. Most of the Avengers were listening into this conversation as well!

"Hawkward…" Stark commented.

"Stop saying that." I said angrily.

"I'm in." Scott said, finally breaking the tension.

"Great. Now there should be a yellow wire that has the word 'Amhiked' on it. Can you see that?" Bruce asked.

"Yeah. Well at this size I can see the letters 'A', 'M', 'H', 'I' and 'K' on a yellow cable so I'm guessing that's it."

"Yep, now I want you to cut through that wire. It's going to take a while so you had better start now." I heard Scott get something out of his bag and a noise like a chainsaw started up. It was quite loud and I had to squint slightly.

"You alright dear?" the woman at a stall asked.

"Fine, thank you." I replied and put down a pot I was holding that was on her table.

"Scott turn your earpiece off for the moment." Steve said.

"Got it. Sorry." He replied and there was a little bleep to signify that he had done so. There was another bleep a couple of seconds later to signify that he had turned it back on again. "Uh guys, there is another word in here. Well actually two words."

"What do they say?" Wanda asked.

"Stark Industries." he replied and I could see Tony's face drop.

"What number does it say in front of the word 'Amhiked'?" Tony asked.

"It says the number 17. Why?"

Tony growled slightly. "That is not good. We named it the 'End Bomb'. You can't turn it off by just cutting the cable."

"We can try." Scott said and started up the chainsaw again before turning on the earpiece. The man carrying the bomb sat on a bench and cars were driving past frequently. How are we going to block them off? Two men, one of which was the bomb carrier, were sat on a bench back to back. The bomb carrier placed the bag under the bench, throwing it a bit further back than anybody usually would.

"Where are we getting on that cable Scott?" Falcon asked from the facility.

"Not even one sixteenth of the way through."

"Wow, that cable is tough." James said.

"We need to speed this up. The agents are becoming suspicious." I said.

"We've been spotted." Steve said, urgently. I looked at the two people who were transferring the bomb and they were staring directly at Steve. They clicked the bomb and I could see an electronic clock start to count down from two minutes. All of us encouraged the public to get out of the street and to safety.

An agent charged towards me and I tried to get my civilians clothes off as quickly as possible so that I would be able to fight in my suit, but I only managed to get one of the legs off before he was a couple of metres away. I hit his face with my free trousers leg and he grabbed it. He pulled it, freeing the end of my leg. We paused for a second and I said "Thanks" before the fight resumed.

"Guys, why are there a bunch of flashing lights in here?" Scott asked as I punched the agent in the face, knocking him clean out. Tony, Wanda and Steve were trying to escort people away from the area, but there were too many agents.

"The bomb has been activated." I told Antman.

"WHAT?!" Scott shouted, almost making me deaf.

"Stay calm. Keep cutting for the minute." The clock was now at one minute forty seconds. He was never going to get the cable cut. We had to do something. I turned around and realised that people were shooting at Steve. The screams of the crowd echoed through the street as we were trying to control the situation. I noted that the other agents were protecting the bomb. They were obviously willing to die for HYDRA.

Steve was trying to get back my way and he attempted to throw the shield at the agent attacking him, but he shot at it, forcing it to change direction. Steve knocked out two agents whilst I shot two down, however, whilst fighting the agents I noticed the Steve had broken his magnets that allow his to get his shield without moving.

I grabbed the shield as quickly as I could while Steve was running back to where I was originally sheltered behind a car. Before he could take the shield back, I put my left foot on the car, pushed off my right foot and threw the shield up in the air to the height of the enemy's chest. I jumped onto it, pushing the agent onto the floor and then hooked my foot onto the strap. I kicked the shield in someone's face, threw the shield up so I could loop my forearm into the strap and then hit someone in the face.

I ended in a crouched position, shield still in my hand and looked up to find Steve staring at me, mouth parted slightly. I stood up and began to walk towards him.

"Thanks." I smiled, undoing my hand from the strap and lightly pushing the shield into his chest.

"No, thank you." he said almost like a whisper. Our eyes seemed to be locked for years and I wanted to stare for longer, but we had a mission.

"What are we doing about this bomb guys?" Stark interrupted. I clear my throat and properly handed Steve the shield before running over to the other agents surrounding the bomb.

"I'm not even half way through. How long is left?" Scott asked.

"Thirty seconds. Buzz Lightyear, get out of there." Tony said and I think Scott followed his orders because I could see what seemed like a fly to leave the bomb. Wanda, me, Steve and Scott surrounded the agents. They looked kinda scared. There seemed to be eight left.

Wanda grabbed an agent and pushed him into a car, knocking him clean out. Steve used his shield to hit an agent's stomach before punching him in the face whilst Scott was having a fist fight with two others. I shot two of them down before helping the others.

Tony came sweeping by in the suit that he must have called earlier and shot the remaining four agents. He grabbed the box and started to shoot towards the sky. "Heads up!" he shouted and threw the box in the air. As soon as it reach a point where it might start to fall, he shot it, causing the explosion to not cause any harm to anyone. We all took cover as the debris fell and as soon as they stopped we re-grouped.

"All twenty down." Tony said, returning to our level.

"RIA!" Steve shouted and I turned to him, but I was too late to realise the man pulling up a gun to shoot. Steve threw his shield and it hit the agent, but it was too late. The bullet had already left his gun and was headed towards me.

 **Hope you liked this :) Quite a long one again, but I love writing this story. Wandering what happens next...you will have to wait and see!**


	11. Names

**Previously:**

" **RIA!" Steve shouted and I turned to him, but I was too late to realise the man pulling up a gun to shoot. Steve threw his shield and it hit the agent, but it was too late. The bullet had already left his gun and was headed towards me.**

I close my eyes, preparing to be shot, but felt no pain. I slowly opened my eyes and saw the agent on the floor, like Steve had left him. Suddenly, from my left hand side, a man appeared - Antman. He was holding something in his hand and when he opened his closed fist, I realised it was a bullet.

"Was that okay for a first mission?" he asked, smiling as he held up the bullet that would've killed me.

"Definitely." Steve replied, a bit too eagerly. I smiled at Steve and then turned to Scott.

"Thank you." I said and he just nodded. "I thought you said there were twenty." I said to Steve.

"I said _about twenty."_ he replied, smiling. He nudged my hip lightly and said "And it's no problem."

"Tony, any lost?" Wanda asked.

"Nope, you got them all. No perimeter breaches" he smiled. "Now let's get the hell out of here."

"He never cleans up." I said as I got out my phone, dialed the clean up number to get rid of the mess made and made sure that there was a SWAT team to take the agents for questioning. The journey back was filled with noise, but it was only from one person - Stark. Not really a big surprise if I am honest. He could talk for years and years on end.

"Hey, did Steve call you Ria earlier?" Tony asked me.

"Did he?" I asked, even though I am 100% sure that he did.

"Yeah. How come he is and I'm not?"

"I was in a pressurised situation. I wasn't thinking properly."

"Sure you weren't." he said and smiled. He didn't talk after that, just left us with that thought. _Brilliant._ When we returned to the tower, the others were waiting for us in the surveillance room.

"What the hell was that about Wanda?" Sam asked, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Maria has been keeping something from us all." Wanda said, walking next to Clint.

"Hill, is this true?" Steve asked.

"No! Of course not. What would I have to keep from you all?" _Only your real identity and the whole of your childhood, but no biggie._

"Well, it's obviously something. When I looked into your mind, you usually keep your private things under lock and key. But this was different...it was just plain darkness. There is never just darkness is someone's soul. There is always something there. It was like you were pushing me away from it, not just leaving it locked. It was like if I found out you would kill me. You're hiding something big from us and we deserve to know."

"I have nothing to hide." I said.

"Then why aren't you telling us what's there." Clint said. _She was taking her side now obviously._

"It doesn't matter." I spoke through gritted teeth and clenched my hands slightly.

"So there is something. Why are you hiding something from the team, Maria?" Clint asked.

"Maria, if this is going to affect your performance in the field we need to know." Steve said.

"I won't let it affect that."

"But it could." Clint argued.

"Maybe I just wasn't searching hard enough." Wanda said, angrily, and shot her hands towards me. I heard the sounds of shouting, people defending me, but I couldn't reply as my body was taken over by the red mist.

Earlier, when Wanda did this in the training room, the feeling was not so overpowering. It was lighter, because we were friends. I wasn't so sure anymore. She attacked me, like an enemy, with her mind, invading every section of mine trying to find out information. I felt her browse over unimportant information, even Coulson, but she never knew him so it didn't matter. It was so painful and I'm pretty sure that I felt a pain in my knees. I must have been falling. I saw glimpses of Natasha and Clint, but Steve was at the front of my mind for some reason. Thinking about him just made me go back to the mission when we were just there locked with each others eyes. I could almost feel her slick smile graced her face.

"PLEASE STOP!" I screamed, digging my nails into my head. God, it was so painful having someone crawl through your head like a rake. She just kept digging until she found the darkness again. I fought as hard as I could, but she pushed through the barrier somehow. However, before she could look through my black area, the energy was released from my body.

My eyes smashed open and my breathing was very hard. I was kneeling down on the ground, head on the floor, with hands over my ears, my nails digging into my scalp. "It's all fine. Everything's going to be fine. Just breathe." I heard the calm reassuring voice of Steve tell me and I breathed a bit better, but I was still whimpering. "That's it. Just keep it smooth."

"What are we going to do about her?" Natasha asked, picking up one of Wanda's hands and dropping it. Someone must have knocked her out.

"Put her into a containment cell." Steve said angrily, picking me up and taking me to the sofa. _What was the point in all this? They all know that something is wrong. What would they think of me if they found out? To know that I'm a liar. My identity is all false._ I looked up at Steve, the person I trust the most at the moment, and curled up into his chest slightly. I just needed a bit of comfort right now.

"I do not think that is the best idea, Captain Rogers." Vision said.

" _Carefully_ take her to the containment cell." Steve commanded. "We can't have her hurting anyone, especially Maria." he said with what seemed like passion in his voice. Vision just nodded, knowing that she could get angry again.

"I will keep an eye on her and inform you when she wakes up." Banner said and he and Vision picked up Wanda to take her somewhere.

"Is she quite alright, Mr. Rogers? Does she need our assistance? If she does, I can call my people and inform them of the situation. They are quite excellent healers." Thor suggested.

"Thank you for your offer Thor, but the situation is not as severe. She will be fine." he said matter of factly and they didn't argue. "I will tell you if she needs help." he added and Thor nodded.

"Very well." he replied and walked out of the room. The others followed him and left me alone with Steve.

"Hey." he said, quietly. "Are you okay?" I didn't respond. I couldn't. It was like my body was in shut down. He wrapped his arms around my fragile body. I had my legs over his lap and my arms curled up like a hedgehog in hibernation. "So now I know what it felt like to be you." was all I could say.

"She seemed different this time. More determined. She had a personal vendetta almost." he said, looking out of the window, and then turned his head to me. "Are you sure there is nothing you want to tell me?" he asked. I shook and he nodded. I didn't expect him to understand so well, but I think he knows that we all have our problems. "Is this to do with the subject that was covered up by a fear of spiders?" he asked.

I shrugged my shoulders and then closed my eyes. Why was it that Steve was so comfortable? He was like my own personal cushion...but this isn't personal. He is not my boyfriend, he is not a "friend with benefits" and we haven't even kissed. What am I doing? It isn't like I see him as a brother or anything. He is a very attractive human being with excellent intelligence and very good drawing skills. He could be anyone's boyfriend.

"Sorry." I said and pushed my head off of him.

"Why are you apologising?" he asked, confused but his confusion turned to worry. "Was I a bit too forward? I am sorry. I just w-wanted to comfort you is all."

"Didn't want you to feel awkward."

"I thought it was fine." he said and I nodded.

I put my head back onto his chest, my feet going back over him again and he chuckled. The vibrations of his laughter vibrated against my ear. He had such a beautiful laugh. There were still of few little shakes going throughout my body, but he held me until they stopped.

"Feeling better?" he asked. I nodded and got off of him. "Getting an early night" he asked and I nodded again. I didn't want to talk and he knew that.

"We will start the interrogation at 0700 hours. I'll come and wake you at 0630. Okay?" he asked and I nodded again. "I will inform the others. Goodnight." He said, smiled and headed out of the door.

I felt like I needed to thank him through some kind of big speech, but I realised that would be a little inappropriate. Instead of going after him, I retired to my bedroom. Everything was neat as usual and I headed straight to bed, not even bothering to get into pyjamas after taking off my suit. I didn't bother telling JARVIS to turn off the lights, because I did them myself. I didn't even want to talk to JARVIS. As I got into bed, my thoughts returned to what Wanda did. _She nearly found out. I can't have anybody finding out. I began to shake again._

"Miss Hill, your heart rate has increased to 90 bpm, much above your usual rate. Would you like me to inform Mr. Rogers of this development?"

"No." I replied and tried to breath slower so JARVIS wouldn't insist on calling him. Slowly, but surely, my breathing returned to its normal rate and I shut my eyes.

 _Just forget it. Just forget it. Just forget it._ I repeated this mantra in my head until I fell asleep.

 _I walked into the kitchen and got my morning coffee before going to sit on the sofa, but I couldn't get to my destination, because of the team standing in my way. They were all straight faced and had their eyes trained on me._

" _What's wrong?"_

" _You. You are what's wrong." Wanda said._

" _You have failed this team." Vision said._

" _You have failed this world." Scott said._

" _We know you lied." Thor said._

" _We know your lie." Bruce said._

" _How could you not tell us?" Clint said._

" _Why are you still here?" James said._

" _You don't deserve to be here." Sam said._

" _You deserve to die." Natasha said._

" _Steve, what's going on?" I asked him. He was the only one who hadn't spoken yet._

" _You lied about your name, Maria. Your whole life is built on lies. You don't deserve to be here." Steve replied. The others were hurtful jabs, but that truly pained me to hear. "Nobody knows your name. No one."_

" _I can't tell you it." I said and they started to walk towards me. "What are you doing?"_

" _Clearing this world of you." Thor said and Clint brought up his bow and arrow._

" _Please...stop…" I said, holding up my hands. "Why are you doing this?"_

" _You're the killer. You killed all of those people." James said._

" _I don't know that for sure!" I shouted and stepped back, but I hit a wall._

" _In your mind...you that you do." Wanda said as Clint shot the arrow at my head._

I woke up, screaming and shaking, to find I was being held down on my bed. I closed my eyes and struggled to break free of the person's hold, but they wouldn't budge. _I'm gonna die._ I thought. I screamed out and the person let go of me. I scrambled to the side of the room, getting my gun from underneath my pillow and sat in the corner, trying to push myself further and further into it.

"Ria, stop!" I heard Steve's voice, but I still held the gun up. He came into view and I trained my gun on him. _Is he here to kill me?_

He got down onto his knees and put up his hands. "Unarmed." he stated and put his hands behind his head. "Just put the gun down and everything will be fine."

"You...you're here to kill me."

He shook his head calmly. "I'm not. I'm here to help you. You had a nightmare. Just stop aiming the gun at me and put it on the floor."

"Why should I trust you?" I asked, my hands shaking slightly. I re-gripped the gun, trying to get a better hold, but it didn't help.

"Because I'm real." he replied and closed his eyes. _The nightmare seemed real._

"Tell me something only Steve would know..." I demanded and he opened his eyes. He scoured his mind for a moment before smiling slightly. My breathing was still fast paced and I was on the brink of crying.

"Sometimes you go to the simulation room and put the riverside setting on. You just sit there by yourself and look at everything." he replied and the shaking of my hands seemed to get worse. My shivers got to a point where the gun fell out of my hands and I brought my hands up to my eyes, crying into them. Steve rushed over and picked me up, bringing me over to my bed. "It's okay, it's okay. Just breathe." he whispered, but there was a knock at the door. I pushed away from him and held onto the bedpost, curling myself up against the side of the bed.

"It's alright. I will tell them to leave. They probably just heard you screaming." he said and walked over to the door. I heard some fragments of conversation, but was too busy on trying to breathe properly.

I heard him shut the door and pace back towards me. He returned to sit on the side of the bed before putting his hand out. "JARVIS said your heart rate was over 100. Are you okay?" he asked and I was confused. Of course I wasn't okay. "I mean, are you physically okay? Did you hurt yourself?" I shook my head and slowly eased my arms from around my knees.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked and I shrugged, not truly knowing whether I did or not. "Do you want me to go?" I looked up to meet his eyes and he could tell that I did want him to stay here. He just nodded in understanding and came to lean back against the bedpost. I shuffled myself up, so I could sit up next to him. He put his arm around me and I leant against his chest.

"You're going to be okay." he reassured me. "Might take some time and you don't have to tell me, but you will be fine."

I began to cry again and shake again and he held me tighter. He comfortingly shushed me and rocked me back and forth. "It's alright. It's alright."

"It's not. It's really not."

"Maria, what is it? What are you not telling me?"

"My name…" I began, but just cried even more.

"What about it?" he asked and I put my head right against his chest.

"It's all lies…" I said, my speech slightly muffled by his t-shirt.

"Your name isn't your real name?" he asked and I nodded.

"No one knows it…" I said, pushing myself off of him and got out of the bed. I walked to the window and looked out at the city. "No one."

I heard him walk towards me and shut my eyes. He placed his hands on my waist softly and whispered "You can tell me if you want...I don't spill secrets." I turned around and our faces were so close. I would call it romantic, but my eyes were clouded with tears and I was still shaking.

"When I say that...nobody knows my real name. I mean it." I said and he furrowed his eyebrows.

"I don't understand. What are you talking about?"

"When I say that…" I started and looked down at the floor. "I mean me included."

"You don't know it?" he asked, sympathetically.

I shook my head. "Please don't tell the others." I begged and bit my lip, scared that he would.

"I would never do that to you." he smiled and pulled me into a hug. The tears streaming down my face were probably ruining his clothes. He was wearing a loose t-shirt and sweat pants. I was only in a shirt and pants. I felt slightly underdressed. "If you don't mind me asking, how come you don't know it?" _So this would be the day when everything is revealed._

I pulled away from him and sat down, leaning my head against the glass. He sat opposite me, so our heads were parallel. "I was trained by the White Room, which was a twin to the Red Room."

"The place Natasha was trained at?" he asked.

I nodded and continued. "The serum that Natasha has never made its way around to me. Our organisation was apprehended before theirs. Coulson and Fury were the first people to find me. They saved my life. I owe them so much."

"You don't owe them anything." he said.

"Yes, I do. They saved me."

"You talk like Natasha does. About ledgers and owing people."

"That's how we were bred. We were never given anything and not expected to return the favour. The same goes the other way. We can't help it. It is imprinted in us like DNA." I said, trying to explain to him that we were different, almost like a different species. "No matter how much you try to shake it, it never leaves. It hangs over me like a ghost, always watching." I looked up at him. "Sometimes...sometimes I think it's going to kill me. But it never does. I don't have that luxury." I said, my eyes filling with tears.

"They took me in, taking my fellow trainees dead bodies into S.H.I.E.L.D for analysis, and they interrogated me. They told me S.H.I.E.L.D were the good guys. They were right to a certain extent." I said and pushed my head into my hands. "God, I just hate myself sometimes."

"Why is not knowing your name such a bad thing?" Steve asked.

"Because I think i'm a killer. Going back to your original question...we were brainwashed in the White Room to forget our families, our old lives. We kept on being tortured until our real selves finally wasted away." Tears were falling down my face and I pushed myself off of the windows so that I could wipe my cheeks. "We were beaten every day. No rest. Just working to be Black Widows. The reason why I don't want to find out my name is because I'm worried i'm her."

"Who?"

"Black Death." I replied and looked out at the city again. "Apparently she slaughtered a whole village with no true purpose. I'm worried that I am her. She was never stupid enough to have her photo taken, but I match the description that most people give about her. She stopped around the time that I was brought into S.H.I.E.L.D. If i'm her, I killed all of those people. It was what my dream was about tonight. The rest are usually just about the White Room."

Silence. That's all there was. I didn't need his reply anyway. I was perfectly fine on my own. Even though the peace was settling, I decided to speak once more. "Sometimes I think that I am lucky...I escaped...but I never did, not truly. I'll always be back chained to that wall in my cell."

"It sounds horrific."

"Well that's life." I said, snapping. "It's shit. It's all shit. Why are we even here?"

"To protect the citizens of t-"

"Oh shut up Steve...sometimes it's not all about saving them. Most of the time, maybe in your mind, but not all of the time. Sometimes it's about thinking about how crap it all is." I said, nearly shouting at him.

"You didn't deserve it." he said and looked at him, but he was gazing out of the window.

"You think I didn't deserve it?" I asked and he turned to me.

"Yeah, I don't think you did. You have a good soul and a good heart. It's not your fault that all those things happened to you." he said.

"Yes, it is."

"NO." he said, sternly. "I won't accept it. I refuse. You are…" he took a deep breath. "You are one of the kindest women in the world and I don't know what I would do if I lost you." he said, putting his hand on my cheek. "So please don't say that you deserved to be in that hell hole."

I didn't nod. I simply shut my eyes and leant into his hand. "Thank you." I smiled and breathed out.

"It's okay. I'm just telling the truth. JARVIS would probably agree with me."

"I could indeed, Mr Rogers." JARVIS spoke over the comms. I laughed quietly and started to get up.

"Thank you JARVIS."  
"Anytime, Miss Hill." he replied and I walked towards my bed.

"We have to get ready for the interrogation." I said, sighing.

"Don't worry about being there." he said. "Romanoff is doing it. You can step in later."

"No, I'm good to go." I said, beginning to get up.

"Stop." he said, taking my hand and pulling me back softly. "You are stepping in later. I can't have you like this and I want you to feel a bit better."

I groaned and pushed my face into my pillow. "But I want to help." I moaned and felt my body sink into the bed.

"Just keep comfortable and go back to sleep. If you have any worries, then call me." he said and pulled the duvet up over my shoulders. I turned my body to face him and whispered "Thank you."

He smiled and left me to fall back asleep, quite easily after him relaxing my mind.

 **Please review guys :) Can't wait to reveal all the little secrets of this story. MWHAHAHAHA!**


	12. Black Death

**I have had no fanfiction updates for a couple of days and I wondered where everyone had gone so I decided to publish this :) Enjoy! BIG SECRETS REVEALED!**

 **Previously:**

" **Just keep comfortable and go back to sleep. If you have any worries, then call me." he said and pulled the duvet up over my shoulders. I turned my body to face him and whispered "Thank you."**

 **He smiled and left me to fall back asleep, quite easily after him relaxing my mind.**

I woke up, what must have been a few hours later, and saw the sun shining through the glass, hurting my eyes slightly. My eyelashes fluttered as I got used to brightness and I pushed myself up, so I could stretch. _Wow, I feel better._ I remembered that there was someone in interrogation downstairs about the bombing on 43rd. As main organiser of the Avengers, I should probably be there to make sure that people don't go crazy.

I slid out of bed, fully refreshed from my sleep, and looked at the clock, which read **0924.** I went over to my wardrobe and pulled out a loose hanging green top and a pair of black skinny jeans. I didn't feel like exercising today. I went down to the interrogation room passing some of the Avengers on the way, but not speaking a word to them. I still didn't know how they felt after yesterday's outburst and me screaming this morning. I walked behind where they were sitting, going by unnoticed because their backs were turned. Making my way towards the interrogation room, I noticed some of the agents looking at me weirdly. _What's their problem?_

Ignoring their glances, I walked to the interrogation area and saw Steve standing on my side, watching Natasha in the room with one of the agents. I walked up to stand next to him and he turned his head to look at me as she punched him in the face. "Are you feeling okay now?" he asked.

"I feel much better. Thank you for looking after me. I'll pay you back sometime." I said.

"You may have ledgers for other people, but you don't have one for me. Got it?" he asked, but I didn't reply. I just looked back at the box that Natasha and the agent were in. _I have to pay him back somehow._

"I know all of you HYDRA agents have a false tooth in the back of your mouth containing cyanide. Do you not think that we have found the reverse formula for it?" Romanoff asked him, walking around the room. "Believe me, there is no way out of here. Now tell me why the attack was performed?"

The agent was tall, about 6ft, had brown hair and brown eyes. He was slumped over the desk slightly, blood pouring from his nose and mouth, and his wrists were locked in handcuffs. There were cuts across his face and he looked so defeated. "There are other ways of extracting the information out of you." Natasha said, raising an eyebrow. "Ever heard of Wanda Maximoff."

He slowly brought his head up, so that he could look directly at her. "Talk." She instructed, resting her hands on the back of her chair. "Tell me why you were going to attack the middle of Manhattan."

The agent leaned back against the chair. The back of the chair was just enough back that it didn't put a strain of the handcuffs. "Everyone would care - they are New Yorkers. S.H.I.E.L.D always find out our hide-outs anyway. In the street, it's so busy. No one would notice us."

"Except from us." Natasha said, taking a seat across from him.

"The Avengers." he said, mockingly greatness. "The solution to the world apparently."  
"We will do our best to be."

"But we do not need you." the agent said, his eyes gleaming. "HYDRA will clean the world of the not necessary. We will make a new world. A world of HYDRA."

"Hmmm...not while I'm alive." Romanoff said and punched him in the face, knocking him clean out.

"There were people staring at me in the corridor. Should I be concerned?" I asked Steve, making conversation as Romanoff cleared up her workspace, riding it of all the weapons she interrogated him with.

"You look...p-perfect. I don't see why there would be any reason to stare at you, but that." he said. I looked at him. _Does he have any idea how cute he is?_

"Er...thanks, but I didn't mean physically. I meant is there any reason why they might be staring, because of any rumours going round about me or something like that?"

"I think it might be because of Wanda. I think most people know about her using her powers against you. They have stayed away from her this morning." he explained and I nodded.

Natasha walked out of the interrogation room, shut the door, and noticed me standing there. "You feeling any better?" She asked, picking up a clipboard, which had the information of the subject on the sheet of paper attached to it.

"Much better, thank you. He doesn't know anything else does he." I said, looking through the glass at the unconscious agent.

"I don't think so. I think he's one of the lower agents, brainwashed by the ideology of a new HYDRA world." she said. Natasha paused for a moment, stopped writing and looked up at me. "I'm really sorry about Wanda by the way."

"It's fine." I smiled. "I should be truthful with the team anyway."

"I'm sorry about Clint too. He shouldn't have spoken to you like that. He knows your past."

"It's fine really. They should know."

"Maria, we all have our secrets." she said, eyes bleeding with experience. "You can't let them define you and no one can force you to speak them. Now I can tell that this isn't a college secret, so...if you want to keep the information to yourself then do so."

I nodded as she put the clipboard back on its hook and walked out past me and Steve towards the door. She exited and Steve turned to me. "What would you like for breakfast?" he asked and I knew exactly what he meant.

"You are not cooking me breakfast." I said firmly, walking backwards towards the door so I could talk to him face-to-face.

"Please it's the least I can do."

"But you don't need to repay me for anything. _You_ are the one who helped _me_ remember?"

"I'm cooking breakfast for two people. Do you really want all that food to go to waste?" he asked as he ran forward to open the interrogation door for us to exit.

"Of course I don't want it to go to waste, but-"

"Then it's settled." he said, smiling to himself. I shook my head and laughed slightly. My laughter died down as the events of yesterday dawned on me.

"Is Wanda awake?" I asked.

He faltered slightly before answering "She is, yes, but she is currently out flying with Vision." I exhaled, relieved that I would not have to deal with her this morning.

"Good." I replied and he ran forward again to open the door to the living room. "You know that you don't have to do that every time right?"

"Old habits." he said, cringing slightly.

"At least they are polite old habits." I smiled and walked through the door. This time the Avengers on the sofa noticed our entrance. James, Sam and Tony were sitting there playing video games.

"Morning sleepy. You slept in later than me. Now that is an achievement." Tony said, pausing the game. They all followed me and Steve into the kitchen.

"I was up at 6 this morning Tony. I just decided to go back to sleep."

"Sure whatever you say Icy." he said and Steve gave him a glare.

"Tony...watch it." Steve said, getting a frying pan to cook in.

"Sorry, old habits." Tony said, holding his hands up and me and Steve laughed thinking back to when Steve said it a minute ago.

"I heard you screaming at 6 and then Steve told me what happened." Falcon said.

"Did Cap lose his virginity this morning? So that's why you were screaming." Tony said and Steve dropped the frying pan. Thankfully it didn't have anything in it, but Steve's face was filled with redness.

"No!" I said and I could feel myself go red slightly. "I had a nightmare."

"Didn't realise Steve was that bad!" Tony said and I threw a fork at him.

"Shut it Tony." I said and turned to Falcon. "I just had a bad dream is all. I get them quite bad."

"Is this to do with the thing you can't tell us?" James asked.

"Are we really going to call it that?" Tony said, but I ignored him.

"Yes, it is." I replied to War Machine. "I'm sorry about that, but I just can't."

"I understand." he said, nodding and picking up an apple to eat. "I think what Wanda did was totally out of line!"

"I agree. I didn't realise she could get that angry. I mean, the energy was so strong." Falcon said.

"We just need to make sure that it never happens again." Steve said, cracking some eggs into a bowl. I felt a breeze come into the kitchen through the window and I shivered slightly.

"I'm just going to go and get a jumper. Back in a minute." I said and jumped off of the stool I was sitting on. As I walked down the corridor to my room, I saw Clint leaving his. I walked up to him as he locked his door. "Clint..." I said and he turned to me.

"Wanda says that you are lying. I can tell when you are hiding something Maria." he said angrily.

"I can't tell you right now. I don't want you to think badly of me."

"You know that I won't."

"You will." I said and leant against the wall. There was a long silence between us and Clint turned to me.

"Cap knows doesn't he." he said and I didn't say anything. "I knew it. Your brand new best friend that you've known for two minutes knows your deepest secrets, but someone that you've known for years you can't tell." he ranted.

"I've known Steve for ages and I can't tell you because you will judge me for it."

"I won't! Just tell me!" he shouted.

"You can't know."

"Why?"  
"I can't say."

"This is fucking ridiculous! I'm meant to be one of you best friends!"

"I don't have any best friends. I'm a White Widow. I'm not meant to have them!"

"Oh shut up! I'm closer with Natasha, a Black Widow, than I am with you and I've known her for a shorter amount of time." he screamed in my face.

"Then why are you going on at me for being better friends with Rogers than I am with you?"

"You are? Oh I'm sorry." he said, sarcastically. "Remind me, who pulled you out of your cycle of self hate?"

"No one did. I'm still there." There was a long silence again and he shook his head.

"Please just tell me what's bothering you?" he asked.

I shook my head. _I can't have him knowing. He'll think of me differently._ "No...I refuse." I said, standing my ground, and he came close to my face. I had never seen him this angry before.

"This time, I'm siding with Wanda. Whatever it is that you can't tell us...I want to know what it is. Don't bother talking to me anymore." he said and stepped away. He walked down the corridor and I stood there for a moment. Clint was meant to be one of my closest friends. I would tell him...but what's better? Keeping it and hurting him a little bit or telling him and hurting him loads?

Deciding that I wouldn't tell him, I walked into my room and stood there for a moment. _What am I in here for again? Kitchen, eggs, window...JUMPER!_

I walked over to my wardrobe and pulled out a grey hoodie. I put it on quickly, feeling a shiver crawl up my back, and walked quickly to the kitchen. Walking in, I noticed Clint leaning against the side. He looked up at me, put his coffee cup on the side and walked out, not looking at me as he walked past me. "Hawkward times ten." Tony said and sipped his drink.

"Don't even talk about it." I said, walking over to sit down again. As I did, Steve slid an omelette from the pan onto my plate.

I smiled at him gratefully and said "Thank you."

"That's alright." he replied, putting the pan into the sink. _Hold up…_

"Hang on, I thought you were making breakfast for two people." I said, taking a bit of the delicious omelette he had made me. _Damn, he is a good cook too. Is there anything this boy can't do?_

"I….am…" he said, looking round the room. He picked up an apple and took a bite. "There. Breakfast for the two of us."

"An apple does not count as breakfast. I only agreed to have you make me breakfast if you were making some anyway."

"You deserve something nice after all you have been through this week." he said, the faintest blush sweeping his face, and I couldn't help but smile.

"I feel like we are third, fourth and fifth wheeling here guys." Tony said to the others, slowly backing up from his seat.

"Agreed. We really shouldn't be here." Falcon said.

"Unfortunately, we will have to go back to the living room and play video games. So unfortunate." James added, edging back with all of them. They all smiled and then ran out to go and play video games. I rolled my eyes and took another bite of omelette.

"What does third wheeling mean? Natasha said the term to me the other day." Steve asked sitting down next to me at the table.

"Why were you talking about it with Natasha?" I asked, curious.

"She said that she felt like our third wheel whatever that means?"

"What? Mine and your third wheel?" I asked as if it were nothing. I tried not to go red or at least hide it with my hair.

"Yeah. Why? Does it matter?" he asked.

I shook my head. "It's nothing. It doesn't matter. Anyway, you shoudn't have cooked me breakfast!" I said, going back to the subject we were meant to be on.

"Well, are you going to throw it away?" he asked smiling. "Because that really _would_ be a waste of food."

I laughed and took another mouthful. "This really is delicious. When did you learn to cook?"

"I had a lot of time when I was brought out of the ice. Only had to cook for myself, but there were a lot of recipes online. The internet is amazing." he said, smiling. _I was happy that he adjusted so easily. I can't imagine what it was like. Just being placed into this time, leaving all of your friends behind and having to make new ones. If that happened to me...if I didn't have Nat or or Coulson or Steve or even Clint...I don't know how I would cope. I think my mind wouldn't be able to take it. I would go mad._

"How did you not go mad?" I asked.

"Umm...what? I don't understand what you mean? Go mad about what?" he asked, sitting down at the table

"How did you not go mad when you came out of the ice? Leaving everyone behind...it must have had some effect on you." I said, rephrasing it. He looked down at the table and I realised how stupid I was being. "Oh...I'm sorry. I didn't think. Only talk about it if you want to."

"N-no...it's fine. We can talk about it."

"I just...i wanted to know how you remained so strong after your old life was taken away from you."

He sighed and threw his apple towards the bin. It circled round the edges of it and dropped in. _Impressive._ I thought. I looked at him, but he was still looking at the table. "Leaving all that behind was no blessing. It was no curse either, because we have saved so many lives as a team. I left my first love behind and I used to never forgive myself for that." _Peggy Carter. America's first woman hero._ "But I found out that she had a family and still has her children and grandchildren with her, so I finally stopped that section of guilt of leaving her on her own."

"That's good. You shouldn't feel guilty for leaving them behind."

He nodded and smiled at me. "Thank you."

"For what? I didn't do anything."

"It's just nice to talk to someone every once in a while." He smiled at me and I felt obliged to smile back. All the other Avengers walked in, including Wanda and Vision. The room went silent and I opted to speak.

"If you want me to leave then I don't mind." I said. _I can at least try and take the higher ground._

"I don't want you to leave. I just want to truth." Wanda said, sounding more peaceful than yesterday. "I am really sorry about what I did to you. None of us should ever go through that again and I didn't realise just how strong my powers were. I'm sorry."

"Apology accepted." I replied.

"But…" she said as the Avengers dispersed into corners of the room to get food and avoid our talk. "we still need the truth." The whole team turned round and looked at us, Clint's glare pinpointing me. I felt so targeted. As if i was their enemy.

"No." I replied, strongly.

"I know it's not good and if it's not good for you then it's not good for the team." she argued, her rage building up slightly, but I knew that she wouldn't attack me like yesterday.

"Maybe she is right." Thor said. "We do not want a member of our team to be unhealthy.

"I'm not part of the team so you don't have to worry about me."

"You have been on several of our missions though." Bruce commented.

"You may as well be." Tony said. "Your suit is nearly done. I just got to touch a few things up, get it fitted to you...but we need to know what you are hiding."

"This is blackmail." I said, getting up and stepping away from them.

"No, it's not. It's called being reasonable." Vision said.

"Guys, maybe we should-" Antman said, before being interrupted.

"Shut it bite-size." Wanda said. "Tell us what you are hiding."

"Stop going on at her. She obviously doesn't want to tell us."

"We deserve to know." Clint argued as he threw his arms about.

"No. Stop. That's an order." Steve said, standing up and getting in front of me. I felt happy that he was defending me, but I didn't want him involved with this.

"What happened to you wanting to find out the truth too?" Wanda asked. The room fell silent. "Unless...unless you already know."

"Well of course lover boy knows." Clint said, throwing his hands up. "She practically admitted that he does in the corridor earlier."

"No I-" I tried to get a word in, but the other kept fighting.

"I think we should stop and think about this." James said.

"I agree. This isn't good for the team." Sam said, stepping next to me.

"Screw what's good for the team. What about what's good for her!" Natasha said, standing next to me. "I don't know what's wrong, but I sure as hell ain't going to force it out of her."

"Team efficiency is going to fall by 36 percent if she-" Vision said. I put my head on the table and put my hands over my ears as they argued. _I can't stand this. Just shut up. Shut up. Shut up._

"Shut it Vision!" James interjected, holding his hand up. I started tugging at my hair. I used it to calm me down, because pain did that. The pain helped me.

"Hey! Don't talk to him like that. Just because he's trying to help the team." Wanda said. _I have to tell them. They won't stop._

"Stop defending your robot boyfriend!" Tony said, making Wanda flush red. "Hill needs to tell us."

"You won't stop will you? All of you. Just stop!" Steve said, getting angry at Wanda.

"Not until we find out the truth!" Wanda shouted.

"STOP IT!" I screamed, pushing my nails into my scalp like before. Everything was coming up infront of my eyes. The White Room, my trainers, me being taken in. I just couldn't hide it from them anymore. They all thought that I was just another S.H.I.E.L.D recruit. Trained like the others...but I wasn't. "You do deserve to know the truth." I said, getting out of my chair and going to the front of the table. I looked at Clint. " _You deserve to know the truth."_

"Why me specifically?" he asked, curiously. I pushed my lips together and opened up the S.H.I.E.L.D login page.

 **Username: Maria Hill**

 **Password: ************

"This is my past." I said, clicking on a folder that was just labelled as **CLASSIFIED.** I typed in my security clearance and brought up the files. There were mini screens around the table and they all gathered round. "I was trained in a facility called the White Room. It was a twin to the one Natasha was trained in. They never gave me the advancing serum that Natasha has, but...they still trained me in the same way." Natasha's eyes glanced up at me and I tried to contain the flow of tears exiting my eyes, but they fell anyway.

"In the Red Room, you could change your name slightly if you wanted to, because they were taken at near enough birth, but we were taken at the age of seven or eight." I said and took a deep breath. "They brainwashed us." I admitted, my fingers digging into the table to keep me up. "They made me forget who I was...my name, my identity, my family. When I say that I have nothing but S.H.I.E.L.D...I really mean it."

I looked at Clint who was still looking through the files. "Black Death is a codename for an assassin." Clint froze. His eyes slowly drew away from the screen on the table and looked across the room. They drew their way to me and I tried to not break down on the floor. "She stopped killing people around the same time that I was taken into S.H.I.E.L.D as an agent." Clint couldn't stop staring at me. He was tearing up just as much as I was and he was a tough person to crack. _I'm sorry. I'm sorry for lying and I'm sorry I didn't tell you._ "She has the same description as me and I believe that I am her. Fury…has seen the drawings of her and truly believes that I am her. There's no other evidence, but there's no way I'm not her."

Clint's facial expression turned angry and I shook my head. "I'm s...so sorry C-Clint…" I said, sobbing into my hands. "I just didn't know how to tell you." He shut his eyes and began to walk out of the room. "Clint! Please! I'M SORRY!" I begged and I saw him exit the room.

I stepped backwards until my legs hit the cupboards and I slid down them, onto the floor. "I'm so sorry Maria. I didn't mean to force it out of you." Wanda said. _He's never going to forgive me. How could I even do this to him? My heart ached and I felt like my chest was being crushed. I'm a dreadful person. Why am I here? My past just brings hurt to everyone around me and I don't see the point in doing this anymore!_

"Don't feel sorry for me. I was born like this. The only reason my family put me up for the program is because I was weak. Nothing changes." I whispered to myself. I felt like screaming. I felt like screaming at the world for making me like this, making me into a monster, someone who kills and destroys everything good in the world. _They would all be better off without me and they all know it._

"I do not understand." Thor said, confused. "Why is Clint acting like this?"

"It's because…" Natasha began. "Black Death killed Clint's brother." I screamed out and put my head between my knees. My fingernails dove deeper into my head and I just cried. And cried. And cried. Clint was never going to forgive me for this. I had been lying to him for all of these years and I couldn't do anything about it. I couldn't go back in time and stop myself from doing something so stupid.

After five minutes I caught my breath and said "The reason why I am so certain is not only because of the similarities physically like Fury said…" I looked up at her. "It's because when Clint shows me photos of his brother, I recognise him." I pushed myself off the floor, using the kitchen side as an aid, and asked "Why would I recognise a man I had never met? I'm a killer Tash."

"No, you're not." she said, but I could tell she was lying.

"You think I'm her don't you. You agree. I know you do." I said and she sighed.

"There were videos of her played at the Red Room. They were used to inspire us." she said, walking to where I was standing. "Your fighting styles are the same. You have the same movements as her. I'm sorry. I believe you are her, yes. I didn't make the connection until now."

"Just...do one thing will you…?" I said and she nodded. "Make sure that Clint is okay…"

"Always." she replied and left the room. The others were all looking at me. Steve didn't look angry or judgemental. He just looked at me. When I caught his eye, he would show a small smile and I would feel a little better about my life.

"You still think you're the only monster on the team?" I asked Bruce to try and lighten the mood and they laughed quietly.

"You are no monster Maria." he relpied. "You are just like us."

"I killed all those people. Hundreds of them." _How could I ever take that away?_

"You think I haven't?" he asked as I walked back to the edge of the table.

"You had no control over it." I argued.

"Neither did you. You were being brainwashed."

"I could have prevented it before."

"What do you mean? How would you have done that?" I asked, confused.

"I could have stopped my parents sending me there. I could have put up a better fight and stopped them from putting me in that van."

"Your parents forced you to go to the White Room?" James asked and I nodded.

"Red Room victims were taken. White Room victims were offered from families who felt their child was undeserving of a normal life. They felt that their children were disappointments. So they sent them away." I said, looking at the centre of the table. "They sent them to hell."

 **I just added that little bit in at the end about Red Room victims taken and White Room victims offered, because white is considered a purer colour. I love writing this! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	13. A long line

**Gets smutty towards the end of it! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **Previously:**

" **Red Room victims were kidnapped. White Room victims were offered from families who felt their child was undeserving of a normal life. They felt that their children were disappointments. So they sent them away." I said, looking at the centre of the table. "They sent them to hell."**

"So you lied to us all?" Thor asked. _What must they think of me?_

"I had to. You would think I was a freak. I am a freak." I said, beginning to walk out of the room, but Wanda caught my arm.

"You shouldn't think that." she said. "You are just like us. I'm sorry I didn't realise that until now."

"It's fine." I said and gently shrugged off her arm. I walked to the door, but turned back to look at them all. Their eyes were directed onto the table apart from Roger's. His were seemed to be tracking my every move. "If you tell anyone, I will kill you." I warned and walked away, slamming the door behind me. I stood there for a couple of seconds, taking in the harsh reality of what had just happened. _What have I done?_ I thought to myself before realising that I was just standing outside the kitchen.

I walked down the corridor to my office and shut myself in. I went over slowly to my desk and sat down on my chair. _They know...all of them know. I know that they won't tell anyone, but they all know that I am a killer. I can't take that back...Right, you can't just do nothing here._ I decided to take action, so I called up my assistant - Jessica - and she came up in under a minute. "Yes, Miss Hill?"

"I would like you to research everything you can relating to the code-name Black Death." I said, not giving anything away.

"Sounds cheerful." she smirked. She was the kind of person that would have a life mission to make everybody else happy. Of course she had happiness in her life, but she was always so considerate of others.

"I will be giving you my clearance level, but this is not to abuse. If I find out this has been used to research anything, but the topic I have given you then you will be fired immediately. Forget all names you read, don't even look at them." I said, handing her my card. "I have every faith that you won't do anything stupid."

"Thank you Agent Hill." she said, smiling and accepting the badge. "I will report as soon as I have gathered all of the information I can."

"Thank you." I said and she walked out of the door. I put my arms on the table and rested my head against them. I breathed out, lifted my head up and said "JARVIS can you soundproof the room for thirty seconds please and leave the countdown on my screen?"

"Of course Miss Hill. Soundproofing in place and counting down."

"Thank you." I put my head back down on my forearms and screamed for the full half a minute. Sometimes it just helps to let it out in a huge set of screams. It releases all the anger that you have stored up deep inside.

"Time complete." JARVIS said. I heard the sound of the sound proofing system turn off and lifted my head up. "Thank you."

"Are you alright Miss Hill?" JARVIS asked. "I noticed a big spike in my sound regulator." JARVIS seemed to be a caring A.I.

"Yes I'm much better after that." I said, truthfully.

"Should I be prepared for that more often?"

"Probably." I replied, with a smirk from seeing his humorous side, and walked out of the room. _Right, now that is over and done with I can go and speak with Clint._ Walking down the corridor, I felt someone walking from behind me. I turned round and saw Steve catching up with me.

"Look, if you don't want to speak to me then that's fine…" I said and continued walking.

"No, why would I not want to talk to you? You lied about your past, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to talk to you." he explained. "You are part of the team...and we'll get through it as a team." I nodded and pulled a small smile. "But…" _That doesn't sound good…_ "I did want to get your opinion on something."

"Okaaay…" I said, unsure about what he was going to ask.

"I want me and you to meet up every day just to talk for a bit." he blurted out quickly as if he were ripping of a band aid. _Is this a good idea?_ I thought to myself. _I do have a busy schedule, but you know it's not about that._

"I don't see how I could find the time to-"

"Just for something like five minutes if you want, but I just thought it might be a good idea. You have just let everyone know that you are an assassin after all and that means that you might need someone to talk to. Also, I feel like…" he looked down at the floor as we walked. "I feel like I know you quite well."

"You do know me well." I added. _He could be help I guess. Communicating with someone over video like Coulson isn't the same as having someone there._ "Alright, but only for five minutes."

"Thank you." he smiled.

"I trust you enough to know that you are not going to tell anyone my secrets."

"Me too." he replied and opened the door from me.

"I've already told you that you need to stop doing that."

"Can I not be a gentleman?" he asked and I smiled.

"It's not the worst thing in the world." I blushed slightly and walked past him. "JARVIS, where is Clint?"

"Mr. Barton is in the gym."

"Is he alone?"

"He is training with Miss Romanoff." he replied.

"Okay, I'm going to try and talk with him anyway." I told Steve.

He nodded and said "He will come round eventually. He really cares for you."

I turned to him. "You really think so?"

"Yes. He may be angry right now, but at some point he'll have to come back to you. How can he not?" he asked, a small smile growing on the side of his face.

I nodded and walked away from him. _Steve doesn't understand how he makes my heart feel. I wonder what it would be like to kiss him again? I mean, it was only in the restaurant undercover, but still...it counts...right? I definitely need to talk to someone about this!_

I got into the lift and went to the training floor. As I stepped out of the doors, I noticed Natasha fighting with Clint. "You should think about how she's feeling." Natasha said, punching at him, but he dodged each throw.

I knocked on the door and they stopped fighting for a moment. Clint looked at me and Natasha walked forward whispering "I've softened him up for you" before leaving us alone.

He turned and got a drink from the side. "What do you want?" he asked.

"To see how you are feeling."

"About what? I'm fine."

"You just found out that I most likely killed your brother and all you can say is that you are fine?"

He slammed his drink on the table, smashing the glass and said "I'm fine!"

We stopped for a moment, looking at the mess he had made, and both knew that it perfectly wasn't fine. That was clear to see. "What is it?"

He sighed and hung his head. "Why didn't you just tell me in the first place?"

"That's your first question about it?"

"I don't care that you killed my brother." he said, turning to me. "He was a murderer anyway and betrayed my family. I'm just upset that you didn't tell me sooner."

"I wanted to…" I said, walking up next to him. "but I was worried how you would react."

"Well, I'm okay about the whole situation." he said and then looked at the broken glass. "But I am not okay about all this."

"There is a dustpan and brush in the cupboard." I said, going to get it.

"So...can we be friends again?" he asked as I came back.

I nodded. "I don't want anything else."

"Good." he said and hugged me tightly. I tried to hug him back, but I had the dustpan and brush in my hands. "Maybe we should clean up."

"Me? You broke it." I said, pulling away.

"You made me break it!" he said, taking the item off of me. "Thank you for being a good friend by the way." he smiled and I nodded.

"Thank you for being a great friend too." I said and left him to clear up the mess he had made. When I got back up to the living room, I saw Wanda sitting on the sofa staring out into nothingness. "Wanda." I called and she turned her head.

"Maria," she said, solumly. "I am so sorry about earlier. I really hurt you and-"

"Calm down." I said, holding my hands up and sitting down next to her. "It's perfectly fine. The team needed to know anyway. Tony is going to spring this surprise suit on me any day, so I think it was best for it all to come out for the welfare of the team as well as my own welfare." I explained and she smiled.

"I'm glad we are on good terms again." she said and I nodded.

"Hey, can I ask you a question?" I said, thinking back to when I trained her last night.

"Sure."

"How come you and Vision have such a strong connection?" I was always curious about their way of communicating. They seemed to know how to act around each other. I had watched them in training many times and they were so in sync. They could do it blindfolded and perform in battle perfectly.

She ducked her head slightly, trying to hide the fact that she was tingeing pink, and replied "The Mind Stone makes our connection stronger, because it connects to my telekinesis. Our friendship is different."

"Are you sure it is just a friendship?" I asked and she raised her eyebrows, sighing.

"That obvious?" she said.

"It is from where I'm standing...well sitting." I smirked. They did seem like a cute couple and he may be an android, but who cares.

"He doesn't...I can't...I can't think about anything romantic between us."

"Why? He can change his shape can't he?" I blurted. I was shocked by my own rudeness and slapped a hand over my mouth. _Stop with the sexual innuendos Hill._

"Maria!" Wanda scolded, but giggled slightly. We both laughed about it and after a while she spoke up again. "Yes he can…" she said, blushing even more. "but that is not the point! The point is I am a human and he is...well he's an android."

"Have you ever seen Doctor Who?"

"It is normal in that world. We can't just mix it up like that. Everyone will judge me."

"So what if they do? You like him right?" I asked and she nodded. "There. That's all that you need."

"I don't know whether he likes me or not…" she said, hesitation in her voice.

"I can tell he does. Just go for it." I encouraged, but she raised her eyebrow.

"That's not your approach with the Captain." she smirked.

"What do you mean?" _Oh like you don't know!_ Mine and Cap's relationship started out as professional and then turned into a friendship. I've definitely considered romance, but that would never actually happen. Someone like me couldn't be compromised...he's so perfect though.

"You two are an item right?" she asked.

"No...but just out of interest, why would you think so?" I asked. _God, I really did like Steve. Maybe I should tell her. I need to talk about it with someone anyway and maybe this is it. We should really arrange a girly meet up._ I was almost shocked by my change in personality. _Did I just suggest a girly meet up in my mind?_

"Do you not remember that he came to the front of your mind when I was zapping you? I won't tell anybody that you kissed by the way." she said and I smiled.

"Thank you, but it was a mission. Also, him coming to the front of my mind doesn't prove anything."

"It proves that you like him and you don't need mind reading powers to detect that you two like each other." she said, as if it were obvious. _It is not obvious! I need a daily update on his feelings! That is exactly what I want._ _Every morning, I want JARVIS to say good morning and then scan his feelings for me. Perfect. Surely he can do that...right?_

"How come?" I asked. _Was it obvious or not?_

"They way you two look at each other." she said and I was about to talk about what looks, but the living room door opened.

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" someone asked and we spun round, jumped by the sudden change in voice. Scott was walking towards us and me and Wanda looked at each other in a panic.

"St-Vi-e-si-ve-on." we replied at the same time. _*cue face palm* Oh great. That was smooth._

He back away slowly, not even looking where he was going as he grabbed the door. "Girl talk then…" he gathered and practically ran away.

"Lets just put it out there." she said. "I like Vision. You like Steve. What are we going to do?"

"Can I join you?" another voice said and we spun round again. Jessica was standing there folders in hands and me and Wanda looked at each other. _How come we didn't notice her?!_

"Come and sit with us." Wanda said, knowing that I thought that Jess could come and talk with us.

"I think...i think I like Sam." she admitted with a smile.

"Well that's pretty obvious. You were practically drooling over him." I said and she frowned at me.

"Look what are we going to do?" Wanda said.

Silence. Complete and utter silence. "Well...this is great isn't it." Jess said sarcastically.

"Do you think the boys talk about us like this?" I pondered aloud.

"I imagine that they come up with battle plans for conquering women with just not for me." Wanda said sulkily.

"Or me." I added.

"Or me." Jess added.

"Or me." Natasha said from behind us. We didn't even bother turning around. We just waved her over and she sat down with us. _God, it's like a girl's convention around here._

"Clint?" I asked and she nodded. Jess gave her a round of applause and she gave her a death glare. "Join the club." I added. "We are single and ready to join the huge fan club of girls who can't wait to shag the Avengers."

"We are in a long line?" Wanda asked, sounding so innocent, and I nodded. She frowned and looked at the floor. "The line is all the way to Asgard and back. Believe me. I have had to deal with girls trying to threaten me to get to them all. I mean, even Vision has got a fan base." _This isn't making me feel better, but at least we are talking about it._

"Sorry Wanda." Natasha said.

Wanda frowned. "How come you know about it?"

"It's really not that hard." Wanda needs to learn how to keep her emotions a secret.

Wanda turned to Natasha. "You are a spy like Maria, but she hasn't heard the boys talking about us. Have you heard anything at all?"

"I may have heard little pieces of information…" she smiled, looking to each side of the room.

"Really?" we all asked eagerly and leaned forward. I was getting used to the gossip corner

"Sam was asking about you, Jess. He is definitely interested in you. He said that you look beautiful." Jess smiled gleefully and I covered my ears in preparation. She squealed for a couple of seconds before piping down and sitting back down on the couch. I've seen her do that a couple of times in training. It is so adorable, but gets very annoying after a while. "Sorry." she said, shrugging her shoulders. The others shook their heads but laughed at her.

"What's all the screaming about?" a voice asked from the door. _This has got to stop happening._ Sam. Jessica went bright red, mainly because he was midway putting on his shirt. Sam was actually very toned, but you wouldn't suspect by the amount of junk food that he eats.

"Oh sorry. That was me." Jessica said, raising her hand slightly as he walked over, now fully clothed.

"I don't believe that we've had the pleasure." he said, extending his hand. She smiled and stood up so that she could shake his hand.

"N-nice to meet you." she said shyly. He kissed her hand and she smiled. She put a loose strand of hair behind her ear before sitting down again.

"Jessica is such a beautiful name. Mine is Sam." he said and she just nodded, completely dazed. He winked at her and she giggled. "What are you gals talking about?" he asked.

"Nothing that you should be concerned with." I said. "Now if you don't mind leaving us alone…" I added and he walked away, but he stopped a couple of metres away and turned back.

"I'll just go and tell the guys that you fancy them then." he said, smugly.

"WAIT!" we shouted, desperately, and he walked towards us.

"Sounds like you need me?" he asked and Jess whispered "Definitely." but we all heard her. She started going red and badly recovered her slip by saying "I mean, you would be a reliable source of information."

He smirked and sat down next to her. "Me. You." he said pointing to her. "Date. Next Thursday. I'll pick you up at eight." Jess squealed again and he said "That is literally the most adorable noise I have ever heard."

"You'll get irritated soon." I said, resting my elbow against the chair rest and slumping my head on my palm.

"Hey! Give us information." Wanda said and clicked her fingers to get him back to the present.

"I thought you were giving info." he said, pointing to Natasha.

"All I know is that Clint likes me a bit, Vision loves Wanda and you really like Jess."

Wanda stood up. "HE WHAT?" she shouted, but then realised how loud she was being, looked around the room and then sat down again. "How did you find that out?" she asked Natasha quietly.

"You don't need to find anything out. You can just see it by his expression." Natasha said.

"He talks about you all the time." Falcon added. "It is so irritating. He doesn't love you, but he is well on the way to fancying you too much. I think he just doesn't realise it yet." Wanda smirked slightly and sighed happily.

"Nothing about Steve?" I asked Nat, a pleading tone bleeding through my voice, but she shook her head.

"Sorry." she said, but turned to Sam. "But I'm sure his best friend can spill the beans."

Sam looked behind him to check that she was looking at him. "Who? Me?"

"Yes, Spill." I demanded, pointing a finger at him.

"Steve seems to be better friends with Maria than he is with me."

I frowned. "How come you get that impression?"

"He talks about how he can always rely on you, but he talks like that about everyone I guess. He talks about you the same amount as everyone else, but this seems to have more passion in it."

"Nothing obvious?" I asked desperately.

"Nope, but there is one thing."

"What?" I asked eagerly. _Did Steve say something else about me?_

"I am totally telling the boys that you like them." he said and started running off. _God I hate him._

We sprinted after him and Wanda shouted "It's times like this that we need my brother." We laughed as we ran and Natasha eventually tackled him to the ground and straddled him, legs on either side.

"You are not telling anyone about the conversation we have just had. Especially Clint. Got it?" she asked, pressing a knife to his neck.

"Got it." he replied.

"Good." she said and slid the knife back in her holster. She was about to get off of him, but the doors opened and she froze.

"Clint?" she asked as he stood there, mouth open slightly. _Oooooo, this does not look good._ "This really isn't what it looks like." she said, breathless, and quickly got up off of Sam.

"Whatever." he said and walked away, waving her off.

"Oh great." Natasha said, sarcasm in her words, kicking the wall making a dent in it. "Now he thinks I'm with you." she said, gesturing to Sam.

"Well, if we move that date to tonight…" he said, raising an eyebrow at Jess. "then he won't."

Natasha looked up and down at Sam and sneered slightly. "Fine bird boy. Have your date and make sure it's convincing."

"I don't think they will have any trouble with that." I said and Wanda snickered.

Natasha walked over to a window and stared out of it. "Do you think Clint likes me?" Natasha asked, sounding a bit hopeless, as Falcon started to stand up. I never thought Natasha could care so much about a human being or any species if I'm perfectly honest, but Clint and her had such a special relationship. One that I would never understand.

"He thinks you are the most beautiful creature to walk this Earth and he doesn't know what he will do without you, so I will take that as a yes." We 'awwww'ed, but Natasha shushed us.

"He really said that?" she asked, not really believing him, and Sam nodded.

"He reminds us almost every day." he laughed and put his hands into his pocket. Natasha showed a small smile and scurried off back to the living room. "If you don't mind, I'm gonna go." Sam smiled and looked at Jess. "See you later, sweetheart."

"Bye." she smiled and waved shyly. Me and Wanda crossed our arms after she had finished looking down the corridor that he left down. She looked at us and shrugged, asking "What?"

"He just called you sweetheart and you aren't put off?" Wanda asked.

"I thought it was cute." Jess smiled and shrugged her shoulders once more.

"They really must be made for each other." I told Wanda and Jess rolled her eyes.

"I'll speak to you guys later." she smiled and waved a cheery goodbye.

Me and Wanda walked back to the living room. Natasha was in the kitchen and she raised an eyebrow at us as a form of hello whilst making a drink. Wanda and I sat down together and waited as she got her drink.

"Do you think I should make a move on Vision?" Wanda asked.

"Maybe you should ask him out on a date? Say it's part of being introduced to the modern world. You could say that I suggested it? Maybe that would help persuade him if he needs any persuasion and then you have a fall back?"

She smiled and hugged me. "Thank you." I wasn't really a hugging person, but I seemed to be getting used to it.

"What's going on?" Natasha asked, coming over with a protein shake.

"I'm setting Vision and Wanda on a date. Well, they're going on a date and I am saying that Vision needs to adapt to modern life so that would be the perfect fall back."

"Good plan."

"I wonder if Vision can get drunk?".

"I don't think Vision being drunk would be good for his circuits." Natasha said and we all laughed.

 **Sorry this chapter was a bit smutty, but I kind of wanted to push a lot of stuff into this one. PLEASE REVIEW :)**


	14. Dates

**MERRY CHRISTMAS 2015!**

 **CocoaWeasley, Spitfire303, xnite05 and KnowInsight - Thank you for all of your reviews. I really appreciate the feedback.**

 **EVERYONE - PM me if there is anything you want me to include or if you want me to write you your own story!**

 **Previously:**

" **What's going on?" Natasha asked, coming over with a protein shake.**

" **I'm setting Vision and Wanda on a date. Well, they're going on a date and I am saying that Vision needs to adapt to modern life so that would be the perfect fall back."**

" **Good plan."**

" **I wonder if Vision can get drunk?".**

" **I don't think Vision being drunk would be good for his circuits." Natasha said and we all laughed.**

"Steve, can you get me a glass of water please?" I asked, as he was walking over to the kitchen anyway. _Be healthy_ I thought.

"Sure." he smiled and I felt my heart flutter. A thought came into my head that made me shiver - How many people think about Steve like this?

"Do I look okay?" Jessica asked me, fretting over her hair. I was sitting with her, Natasha and Clint. Nat and Clint hadn't spoken to each other since earlier when Clint thought that Natasha and Sam had a thing. Me and Jess were sitting on a sofa, whilst Clint and Natasha were sitting on chairs that were on opposite sides of the table.

"You look great. I'm sure he'll love it." I replied, touching her arm.

"Who is the lucky guy?" Clint asked, eyes not moving from the book he was reading.

"Sam." Jess smiled and Clint's eyes looked up at her. "He's taking me out tonight. No idea where and I'm really nervous." Jessica was wearing a blue goddess style dress that had a diamond belt and she had a plait around the back of her head. She looked absolutely stunning.

"There is nothing to worry about. You look lovely." Clint reassured her and Natasha's eyes quickly darted up at him before returning to the phone that she was holding.

"Thank you Clint." she replied and Sam came through the door. He was wearing a black cotton top and blue jeans. He walked over to us, but stopped when he reached the sofa as Jessica stood up.

"Wow." he said, taking in her beauty.

"What?" she asked, looking down at her dress. "Is something wrong?" she asked, getting worried that she now chose the wrong outfit.

"Nothing is wrong. You look absolutely perfect." he said, taking her hand and kissing it. _I think he has learnt a few things from Cap._ She blushed madly and hid her face with her hair. He laughed slightly and took her hand. "Come on. Even though I could stare into your eyes all day, if we don't leave now, we are going to be late."

"Late for what?" she asked, her skin colour going redder as each second.

"You'll see." he smirked and whisked her out of the door. Silence hung in the air for a couple of moments, but me and Natasha knew that Clint had something to say on the matter.

"What is it?" Natasha asked.

"I don't see how you can like him. He's obviously going after Jess." Clint splurted out.

"Well someone seems jealous."

"How can you like a guy like that?"

"I don't." she answered firmly.

"Didn't seem like that earlier."

"You do realise that she was trying to kill him when you walked through the door earlier today." I interjected, explaining to Clint how stupid he was. Clint looked from me to Nat and back to me and then to Nat once more.

"Is she telling the truth?" he asked suspiciously.

"Sam was being an idiot."

"That isn't a good explanation. Why was he being an idiot?"

"He just was." she said, gritting her teeth. She didn't want to admit that she liked him, because they had been best friends for such a long time. If she just came out with the fact that she does like him, then everything would be fine. But she still has that doubt in the back of her mind and doesn't want to be rejected.

"Sure…" he said and chucked the book on the table, getting up to leave.

"Clint wait!" she shouted and pushed off of the sofa. "I'll tell you."

"Go on then…" he said and crossed his arms, waiting her to respond. She didn't say anything. She bit her lip and looked down at the floor. "Explain it to me."

"Can I ask you something?"

"I thought you were the one giving me answers."

"Why does it matter to you?" she asked. That stopped him. I didn't say anything, because I didn't want to interrupt the moment. Right now I wanted to fade out of existence and leave them as they were, but I just sat and played on my phone as I listened their conversation. God I felt so helpless today. I was either soppy or angry. People assume that the girl Avengers don't get periods and are brilliant all the time. Well here's some fucking news. THEY DO! I focused back on bugging their conversation and forgot about the knife that was stabbing me in the stomach.

"It...it doesn't…" he said, being a bit confused from the question. "I mean, I want to know, but...I…" Clint said, but couldn't seem to finish his sentence. I looked up and saw Natasha step towards him. She put her hands on either side of his face, rose onto her toes and kissed him lightly on the lips. "I think you know why I wanted to know." Clint whispered and closed his eyes before kissing her again.

I saw Steve walk through the door of the kitchen, my glass of water in his hand as well as a plate probably containing his dinner. "I...uh…" Steve stumbled and the couple pulled apart.

"Oh...hi Steve." Natasha said, sheepishly.

"Hey…" he said and walked straight over to me, raising his eyebrows.

"The reason why I didn't want to tell you about what happened…" Natasha started. "is because Sam was going to tell you about our feelings."

"Our feelings?" Clint asked, confused.

"I mean, my feelings." Natasha said, glancing back to me. Steve was eating his sandwich, but I saw Clint mouth the word 'Oohhhh' and they smiled at me. I shook my head and rolled my eyes, picking up my glass and taking a sip. It's times like this that I want a relationship.

"Has anybody seen Wanda?" I asked, as Clint and Natasha came back to join me and Steve. They were now sitting next to each other instead of on opposite sides of the table.

"No, I haven't. Are you going to make sure that she has that date with Vision?" Nat asked me.

"Are they finally gonna get together?" Clint asked.

"Hopefully, yes." I smiled.

"Never knew that you were so secretive…" Steve smiled, a grin forming on one side of his face.

"You have no idea." I replied and smirked back at him. I saw Natasha and Clint smiling at our little flirting sessions throughout the day, but I ignored them.

"Miss Maximoff is in the gym, Miss Hill." JARVIS said, interrupting our staring contest. _Thank J._

"Um…" I said, turning my head to the ceiling. "Thank you JARVIS." I got up and made my way there. When I arrived, Wanda was jogging carelessly on the treadmill with flushed cheeks and taking very sharp breaths.

"Shoulders relaxed." I called as a I walked over. She nodded and did so. "Think about your breathing and you pacing otherwise your feet will suffer, meaning that the rest of your body does too." She followed my instructions and fixed her errors. When I got round to face her, I leant on the front of the treadmill and I wondered how long she had been exercising to get this red.

"How long have you been on here exactly?"

"...About...twenty five minutes…" she said, her breath ragged. By just looking at her, I could tell that her body was tired. I pressed the stop button and she looked confusedly at me. "Thanks…" she said, stepping off the treadmill once it had stopped and leant against it. "But why...are you...stopping it?"

"Because you need to go and speak with Vision. Also, I felt a bit sorry for you."

She smirked and grabbed a drink. "Rogers wants me to be running for an hour straight."

"Really? Only an hour?" I asked and she raised her eyebrows at me.

"That was the complete opposite of...my reaction. My was...more like 'A whole hour? Are you fucking kidding me?' and….you can already guess how he...responded with that." _Language._ I smiled. "Why do I need to...speak to Vision?"

"The date, remember?"

"Oh...yeah...about that." she said, putting the drink down and pulling a 'please forgive me' expression. "I don't think that is the best idea."

"Why not? You do realise that me and Fury had the plan to pair you two up as partners since the beginning? It will be good for you two to get to know each other."

"Well if we do...have to go on a date...then I'm not asking him." she responded, catching her breath.

"Fine. When the opportune moment comes, I will arrange a date for you two."

"Okay. Was there anything else? I have another thirty five minutes in here." she smiled, stepping back onto the treadmill.

"No." I looked at her. She seemed much fitter than before when we picked her up from Sokovia. Her body was more toned and she seemed a lot stronger. "But I must say you seem to be taking training very well. Most recruits hate that part."  
"I have the chance to help save the world. I'm not throwing it away." she responded, smirking. She turned back and started running again. I was glad that she was taking this in her stride, literally. She was doing it to help save the world. We all are I guess, but in a way...I'm doing this to save myself too. I have nowhere else to go. I went back into the living room. Steve's head looked up at me and he smiled before returning to his newspaper. _I wonder what his true reason for being here is._ I noticed that Clint and Natasha had left. "Did the others get tired of you being a third-wheel?" I asked.

"What's a third-wheel?" he asked.

"Don't worry." I smiled and sat down next to him, trying to not blush. "Steve, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Why are you here?" I asked, trying to sound inquisitive instead of rude as I picked up my water and sipped some of it.

"Do you mean here as in on this sofa, on the team or in life?" he asked.

"I mean on the Avengers." I clarified, putting my drink back on the table.

"S.H.I.E.L.D found me."

"Yes, but you could leave at any point. I'm their leader and I know that they could easily replace me, but-"

"It wouldn't be easy Steve." I interjected. He turned to me and shone a small smile.

I couldn't understand whether my interruptions irritated him or made him laugh so I apologised regardless. "Sorry."

"No, it's fine." he laughed, placing his hand on mine that was resting aimlessly on the sofa. _Okay, as he explains this try not to have a heart attack._ "Thank you, but Tony is the one that could easily take my place."

"I don't think many of the staff would be overjoyed." I smirked and he laughed along with me. _Yep, just make jokes and then you will be fine even though your inside might explode at any moment._ My heart was racing like mad and I felt like grinning as if I were a 15 year old schoolgirl.

"Tony would be a brilliant leader. Sometimes I think about leaving…"

"But…?" I prompted

"The Avengers aren't just my team. They are my friends." he explained.

"Aw Cap I'm touched." Tony said from behind us and I slowly withdrew my hand, not trying to draw any attention to it. Thank goodness he was out of view and couldn't see us hand holding in the first place.

"Stark." Steve said. "Good to know that you listen in to all of our conversations."

"My pleasure Steve." he smiled and walked on. "You guys coming to the rave tonight at 11?"

"The rave?" I asked.

"Yeah, the one in the staff quarters. It's their first one and apparently it is going to be brilliant! Sam and Jess are coming too." Tony said, excited like a little ten year.

"I don't usually get invited to those kinds of things so that's not really my kind of scene." I said to him, which was the truth. No one has ever asked me to dance in my whole life. It feels kind of unfair if I think about it, but I don't need something like a relationship to distract me.

"What's a rave?" Steve asked.

"A party. The best time of your life, now you coming?"

"Okay." Steve said, smiling slightly. He turned to me and asked "Will you come with me?"

"Well...I um…" Did he just ask me out?

"I mean, as friends you know. I d-don't think that I can do something like this on my own. I won't know what to do or what to say." he explained and I understood his point.

"Um...sure. I'd love to go with you." I smiled and Tony grinned at me.

"I'm sure you two will have a great time together." he said, suggesting way more than the innocent words he spoke. And he knew it. _Idiot._ I nodded at Tony and then smiled at Steve awkwardly.

"I need to get a snack so I will see you guys at the party. Meet you there, Steve." I said and made my way quickly into the kitchen. I had already had dinner but I felt thirsty after that tense conversation. Damn it. I like Rogers. I think I like him a lot, but I'm not sure. Sometimes I just want to be surrounded by him all the time. I love the conversations that we have about everything. It's like an addiction really...but to be honest, I can't be distracted. If I had a normal life, if I lived in a house in the countryside and we were completely disconnected to saving everyone then maybe….maybe I could see us being together.

But this is reality.

I have to face up to the fact that he probably doesn't want to be with me. He said the other day about Peggy. I think he has been to see her a few times and I feel that he never quite let her go. God, I was so angry. I just wanted to eat everything in the fridge.

I paced for a few moments, trying to calm the red rising on my face, until I told myself to get a grip. _If you eat anything you will get fat_ my logic told me. Man, I wanted food so badly. I pushed past the cheese sandwich and pasta to get some juice from the fridge, but realised that there was a newspaper on the side next to it on the table.

 _Really? Another one?_ Another article had been published about Steve being 'out of this time' on the front page. This needs to stop. They just need to deal with the fact that he is in this time now. God I was so angry today. I heard someone enter through the door and I looked up to see Steve.

"Hey." I smiled, smoothly slipping the newspaper underneath my bag.

"I've already read it." he replied and I huffed. _Not so smooth then._ He was probably the one who was reading it before it was placed there.

"I'm sorry. I just didn't want you to-"

"I know. It's fine." he said, leaning over to pick the newspaper from under my bag. His jaw line looked like perfection as he leant across me to pick up the paper. He had a small amount of stubble across his cheeks and I couldn't decide whether he would look more or less attractive with a beard. I wonder whether he has ever had a beard. I think he would look better without a beard. It would be weird to kiss him with one.

Having him this close made me think about the fact that he always smells nice, even when he sweats. How is that possible? I remember training with him at the gym and after running 10 miles he doesn't even break into a sweat. I had given up on trying to deny my thoughts about Steve. I had discussed it once with the girls already, so I don't see why it should matter anymore. I'm not going to tell Steve, but at least I can talk about it with the others.

"So what are you going to be wearing tonight then?" he asked and I smirked.

"Telling would be playing fair." I said and jumped up onto the surface of the kitchen surface. As I did, I realised something terrible. "Oh no…"

"What is it?" he asked, concerned deeply about whatever it was that _I_ was worried about. He did seem awfully interested in my welfare. However, this was not a drastic issue.

"I don't have anything to wear tonight." I said, sighing and slumping my back slightly. _God that's a pain._

"I'm sure that one of the girls will go with you?" he asked and I nodded.

"Okay, JARVIS where is everyone?"

"Mr. Barton, Miss Romanoff, Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Lang are having a training. They have asked not to be disturbed for the next hour. The rest of the team are in their room for private time."

"Damn it." I said, hitting my fist on the table lightly. "Uhh...I'll just go by myself."

"Well...I could come with you...I mean if you want and you have no one to go with." he said, raising his eyebrows. His frown line was so cute...and I didn't even know why. It just was.

"No, Steve. I'm sure you have stuff to do." I replied.

"It's okay. I had a free evening. Emphasis on the had." he said, smiling. I laughed, but felt a pain in my lower stomach. _For fucks sake!_ I swore in my head, knowing that Steve didn't like that kind of language. I winced however and he noticed.

"Are you okay? Do you need me to get someone? Doctor or-" I held up a hand to silence him.

"Steve, I'm fine." I said, shifting to move off the counter, but it was uncomfortable to. He must of sensed this somehow, because soon he was standing in between where my knees hung over the table top and touched my hips.

I wondered what he was doing before he picked me up. I felt so light and I smiled as he lifted me, because it was a nice feeling. His warm hands kind of made the pain go away and I relaxed as he ever so slowly placed me delicately on the ground. "You okay?" he asked once more and I nodded.

"Yeah, I am now." I replied and smiled. He returned it and my heart decided to do some backflips once he did. He had such a big impact on me and I tightened the muscles in my legs to keep me from falling. "Are you sure you want to come with me?" I asked, stepping away to grab my orange juice. _Keep the distance_ I told myself but I missed the closeness of our faces.

"I haven't really been to any shops before. Tony's bought most of my stuff, so I haven't really had the chance to go out to a shop before."

"Well, I promise that we will go to a store that sells both men and women's clothes. Have you got anything to wear?"

"Yes I have. Shall we go?" he asked, holding out his hand.

"Sure." I said and my hand joined in his. It was so comforting even though it was only holding his hand. It felt right, like it should be there, and my heart decided to go mad at just this gesture from him. I opened one of the draws with my hands and took out mine and Steve's debit cards. I gave his to him and he slipped it into his pocket as I did so with mine. We walked through the living room and Tony walked through the door, looking at his iPad. I let go of Steve's hand as we kept walking. _What the hell are you doing?_ I told myself.

Tony looked up and said "Hey Mr and Mrs. Spangles."

I rolled my eyes and snapped "Shut it Tin Head." Steve giggled, but I could see some disappointment in his face. _Was it because I let go of his hand?_

We stepped into the lift and didn't say anything until we went past about five floors. "So what kind of dress were you thinking of?" he asked to make the journey seem less awkward.

"I honestly have no idea. I don't really do dresses."

"I'm sure you'll look great." he replied and smiled. My eyes caught with his for just a second before the doors of the elevator opened. As we walked through the headquarters, people were staring at us and I felt a bit nervous about what was going to happen later.

"Steve, I'm not sure if going to this party is such a good idea." I said. "They seem like they hate me."

"You said you would and they don't hate you."

"I think they do." I said, hurrying my pace along as if they were all going to kill me. We got into an undercover car and made our way to Manhattan. Steve had a hoodie with him earlier that he put on so that no one would notice him and I'm sure that no one would notice me, because I'm not important. I drove and we parked in a secret car park reserved for the Avengers.

Walking down the street, no one seemed to notice us thank goodness. People were so busy these day that they didn't really pay attention to anything apart from their lives. Why should they really? We arrived at the smallish store I wanted to shop in, but they were about to shut. "Hey, excuse me." I said and the woman who was locking up turned around.

"I'm sorry ma'am. We have just shut." she said, holding up the keys and smiling apologetically.

"Please. I'm begging you. We have a party tonight and I really need a new dress."

She pouted, almost considering it. "I...I can't. We've shut."

"Please." Steve said, pulling the hood down. Her eyes widened, recognising the face. "We're Avengers and we need your help."

"Wow!" the shop assistant said, placing her hand over her chest. "My son absolutely loves you guys. He has all of your action figures."

"Seems like a fan." I smiled and she chuckled.

"Yeah, you could say that." She turned to face Steve. "I'll tell you what, I'll open it only if you give me an autograph for my son."

"Deal." Steve said and a grin made its way onto my face. He was so sweet. We entered the shop and she said "I will wait by the door so that if anybody comes in I will tell them that we are shut." She turned some of the lights back on and we walked in.

I turned back and said "Thank you." before walking through the shop.

"Have you ever been to a party before?" I asked Steve as we browsed through the aisles. I can't imagine Steve being the party type. The shop was small but she wouldn't have been able to hear us from where she was standing.

"I did in the 1940's, but I'm sure that they are different to the ones that you have nowadays?" he said and I nodded.

"Yep. This century it's all about sexiness and wearing the least amount of clothing." I said, browsing over some maxi dresses.

"Sounds very different." he said, raising his eyebrows and looking through some of the dresses for me too.

"Well a lot's changed. The internet probably being the biggest leap for you."

"Yep. That and food." he said and I laughed.

"Food is a big one. What's your favourite?"  
"What? For now? I would probably say pizza."

"Pizza?" I asked almost in shock. "You eat pizza?"

"Yeah, why is that such a shock? I thought everybody ate it." he said, confused.

"No, they do. I just can't imagine someone like you eating it." I said getting to the end of the aisle and meeting him there still with no dress.

"What do you mean someone like me?" he asked, curious.

"Well…" I said, gesturing to his body. "You're not exactly unfit. Pizza is very fattening."

"It's the serum. I can eat a huge amount and get no fatter. I'm similar to Thor in the way." he said and I nodded.

"Unfair. I wish I could do that."

"I wasn't always like this remember. I used to look like I was just bones with a layer of skin." he joked and I laughed as we moved onto the next rail of clothing, still being able to see each others faces from over the top bar of the railings.

"I can't imagine you like that. I guess it's because I just didn't know you then." I said, wishing that I could know him beforehand when his body seemed fragile and weak. It would have been nice to talk to him then, not that the serum would've changed his personality I'm sure.

"Well I'm glad I know you now." he said as he continued to browse. I looked at him and thought _He didn't even need to think about that then. He just said it. How am I meant to cope with his cuteness when I am this attracted to him._ "What about you?" he asked and I was lost.

"I'm sorry?" I replied.

"Favourite food?"

"Oh." I replied, feeling a bit stupid. I could feel the blush rise on my face. "Definitely white chocolate."

"Good choice." he smiled and I pushed back a few dresses before finding something that caught my eye. Hmm...this looks good.

 **End chapter :) MERRY CHRISTMAS! Hope you guys have a good one. Please be wonderful and review as it's Christmas after all! Have a fun time!**


	15. The Party

**Previously:**

 **"Favourite food?"**

 **"Oh." I said, feeling a bit stupid. I could feel the blush rise on my face. "Definitely white chocolate."**

 **"Good choice." he smiled and I pushed back a few dresses before finding something that caught my eye. Wow.**

"Have you found something?" Steve asked and I nodded.

"I think so. I'll have to try it on first." I said, pulling out the dress and folding it up a bit, partly so that Steve wouldn't see it if I wore it to the party tonight. I walked over to the shopkeeper and asked "Where are the changing rooms?"

"Over there." she said, pointing a door on the side. I left Steve in there to browse around the store as I got changed. I pulled the dress over my head and looked at myself in the mirror. To best honest with myself, it was quite flattering on me.

The dress was short, going only a few inches above my knee, and white. It was sleeveless with a sweetheart neckline and had a strip of jewels going down the middle of it. There were three small triangles going down the centre of the dress also that showed off my defined stomach. My breasts were so pushed up they looked like Romanoff's, but I wasn't complaining. This wasn't my usual attire, but to be honest, I didn't care anymore. The newspapers were saying all kinds of stuff about me as was everyone else. At least this would get me into the good books looks wise. It didn't make me look slutty, it just made me look more attractive than usual and at the moment...I needed a confidence boost.

I quickly took the dress off and got changed into the clothes I was originally wearing, which was just a pair of jeans, a red top and a jacket. I walked outside and saw Steve still browsing.

"Any good?" he asked and I nodded.

"I think I will buy it." I smiled and walked over to the shop owner. "Please may I buy this dress?"

"You may." she said, politely, and I handed it to her. We walked over to the tills and she scanned the item after setting up the system. "Cash or card?"

"Card, please." I said and brought mine up, but one was already in the pin machine before I had the chance. I turned to Steve.

"Hey, I'm paying for my own dress."

"No, I want to."

"That's unfair. I brought you here."

"No, I dragged you out here. I'm paying for my own dress." I said.

"Please, I insist." he said and I was about to argue, but I didn't realise that he had already typed in his pin number and pressed enter. "See, not that hard."

"You're so irritating." I said with a smile rising on my face.

"Call it an early Christmas present."

"It's July." I said, raising an eyebrow. The shopkeeper laughed and I asked her "And what is so amusing?"

"You two." she said, putting the dress in a bag and handing it to me. "Have a wonderful evening Miss Hill. Mr. Rogers." She smiled. I didn't think about elaborating on her comment about me and Steve, but I told myself to think about it later. We walked out of the shop and made our way back to the car park.

As soon as we go in the car I spoke with Steve. "You shouldn't have done that you know."

"It was my pleasure." he said and I smiled as I indicated down a left road. "So should I meet you outside of your room at eleven?"

"Um sure." I said, now just realising that this might be a date.

"Are you feeling any better about revealing yourself to the group?" he asked me.

"I feel like it is a weight off of my shoulders, especially telling Clint. I expected him never to speak to me again."

"I told you that he loved you."

I smiled. "I'm glad I have some sort of family, even if they aren't blood related."

"We are your family." he said, putting his arm on his chair rest.

"I've never really….had one….before…." I said, smiling slightly. Family wasn't a word that seemed to cooperate well with me. "I'm happy that I can talk to everyone though and feel comfortable doing so."

"Do you like talking with us?" he asked, trying to get another answer out of me. I could just tell that there was something else he wanted to know.

"I like talking with all of the Avengers." I said, hoping to prompt another question.

"Are there any in particular that you feel most comfortable with?" he asked, acting 'cool'. I think almost anybody would've been able to see past his question.

"I like talking with Wanda, Coulson, Clint and Natasha, but I find that...talking with you helps a lot." I said and reached out to place my hand on top of his. He twisted his hand and interweaved mine with his. It felt so nice, but I was freaking out a bit about the fact that he was doing this me. Not just the gesture, but the fact that my heart felt like it was trying to beat itself out of my chest. "I can talk about anything with you. It makes me feel so comfortable to talk to you. With the others I have to restrict myself, but with you...it's different."

"Yeah...I find it's different with you too. I've never met anyone like you." he said and I could feel his eyes on me. He stroked me hand smoothly, driving my heart into a frenzy. I let out a shaky breath and then took my hand away from his to indicate. After indicating, I found his hand again and he smiled. "I wanted to ask whether you wanted to meet up each day….just to talk….I feel like it would help the both of us." I could tell he was worried about asking me.

I smiled and nodded in agreement. "Sounds like a plan. I usually feel like I need a break most days anyway. It would be good to spend more time with a team member."

"You're becoming one remember." he smiled and squeezed my hand gently.

"Don't know whether that is a good or bad thing."

"Definitely a good thing." he replied, a bit too quickly. I smirked and went back to focussing on the drive ahead to distract myself from the warm hand that was holding mine.

We arrived at the tower and went inside. It was already 10 o'clock by the time we came back and we decided to have some dinner before getting ready. We walked into the kitchen and Clint and Natasha were sitting there kissing.

"Guys, keep it PG." I said, going to the cupboard to get some bread.

"Sorry." Clint said and Natasha hopped off of his lap.

"Buy anything nice?" Natasha asked, gesturing to the bag in my hand. I put the bag on the side and smiled.

"It's lovely, but I wasn't the one who bought it." I said, raising an eyebrow at Steve.

"What? I said it was an early christmas present." he said, shrugging and putting his card back in the drawer.

"You really shouldn't have."

"It was my pleasure." He smiled his beautiful smile and my body shuddered slightly. His smile always seemed to make me feel weak and vulnerable. I immediately dismissed the thoughts from my mind as Natasha started to talk.

"Well I certainly want to see this dress that you are talking about. Will you show us?" she asked.

"Hmm…" I did want to show Natasha, but I kind of wanted to keep it as a surprise for when Steve sees it. "How about we go and get changed and then you can see it? Steve, should I just meet you at the party?"

"Sure." he said and smiled at us all before leaving to go to his room. Clint and Natasha looked at me, grins on their faces.

"What?" I asked, unimpressed but curious at their expressions.

"Things seem to be going well with him." Clint said, picking up his drink and taking a sip.

"Things?" I asked.

"Come on, you can't ignore it…" Natasha said with a smirk.

"Ignore what?" I said, getting a little louder.

"You are attracted to Rogers and he is attracted to you."

"What? Are you crazy?" I said, sounding hysterical. After saying so, I wish I said it a little less hysterically.

"No, we're not." Clint added. "The sexual tension between you two is more obvious than finding Waldo at a nudist beach."

Natasha rolled her eyes and said "Look, you need to make your move soon otherwise he's going to be snatched up by someone else."

"That won't happen." I snapped before opening my eyes widely realising what I had just said. They started to laugh and I added "No, I mean….I just mean that Rogers isn't that kind of person, you know. He wouldn't….he wouldn't do that."  
"You don't have to justify yourself." Natasha said holding up her hand. "Now let's get changed." Nat kissed Clint's cheek and said "Meet you at the party."

We went to Nat's room and got changed in there. "So you're really not secretly dating Rogers?" she asked.

"No, i'm not."

"But you want to?"

"I think you already know the answer to that." I said from her bathroom as I slipped off the last of my clothes.

"I'm kind of regretting talking with everyone about that." I admitted, slipping on the dress.

"You shouldn't be." she said through the door. "It was good to talk about it with us. I've gotten together with Clint, Jess is now with Sam and hopefully Wanda and Vision will be together along with you and Steve."

"How should I go about the whole situation?" I asked, opening the door.

"I would…" she stopped mid-sentence and looked at the dress I was wearing. "I don't think you need to do anything with that dress."

"You think so?" I asked, smiling and looking down at it. I'm really happy that me and Steve decided to go last minute shopping, because I thought that I actually looked quite good in that dress.

"Yeah, he will literally be begging to have sex with you by the time that he sees you in that dress."

"Hey!" I shouted and slapped her lightly on the arm. "Not tonight." I winked at her and she laughed as she knew that I was joking.

"You ready to go?" she asked and I nodded.

I gasped. "Wait, I completely forgot about shoes."

"It's okay. Just borrow some of mine." she said and I looked around.

"Umm...where are your shoes as a matter of fact?" I asked and she smiled. She took me over to a door and opened it. _Oh wow._ She had a huge wardrobe room that was absolutely gorgeous. I ran my hands along all of the beautiful designer dresses and smiled at the huge tower of shoes on the shelves.

"And I can pick any shoes I want?" I asked, smiling.

"Yep." she said, but went over to a pair and picked them up. "But I would recommend these." She handed me a pair of small black heels that seemed like perfection and would go perfectly with my dress. I put them on and she smiled. "Looks good."

"Thank you." I smiled and we walked out together to the main bedroom. "What's the time?"

"11:12. We should probably get going."

"You are probably right." I said and we left for the staff's quarters where they all hang out at. We went down in the lift and then made our way towards the door. I breathed out and closed my eyes.

Natasha nudged me and I opened my eyes to look at her. She smiled and asked "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." I said.

"Nervous?"

"A little."

"Don't be." She smiled. "You'll smash it. Everyone will love your look." 'Everyone' meant the S.H.I.E.L.D agents and I don't think they were exactly my biggest fans. There had been rumours about me being Black Death and that me and Rogers were sleeping together. I would say that I didn't care about what they thought about me, but the truth was I did. I just needed to forget about it.

"Lets go." Natasha said as she opened the door and we entered. The room was packed. A DJ was at the back playing a remix of 'Blow' by Ke$ha. I remember it, because it is one of my favourite running tracks.

Some people turned to stare at us and I looked at Natasha. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked. I took time to notice her dress. She was in a red dress with small straps that criss-crossed at the back. Her handbag was black and contained all that she needed - a gun, some shorts to challenge someone with and some lipstick. The drinks were free at this party so what was the point in bringing money. She pulled the dress off perfectly, but she could pull any dress off perfectly if I'm honest. I finished the look by putting on a black leather jacket.

"This is a great idea." she replied and we walked into the room. We went over to the bar, the barman looking at us and smiling, and ordered our drinks. I casually scanned for Rogers but couldn't see him anywhere.

"Two vodka's, please." Natasha said and I went wide-eyed.

"Vodka's already?" I asked and she smiled.

"Just be thankful that I aren't ordering you an 'Almost Asgard'." I looked up at the sign showing the drinks on the board and one of them said that name.

"What is an 'Almost Asgard'?" I asked.

"Well, you know that drink that Thor brought back at Stark's last party at the tower and some people tried it. Remember that those people ended up in hospital?" I nodded and got a bit worried that they were serving it. "Well, this drink has the same effects, but without the hospital. It is stronger than vodka believe me."

"You sound as if it is from experience." I said as the barman served us our drinks.

"Well, let's just say I don't remember the night before." I chuckled and down the shot, squeezing my eyes tight at the feeling of it changing my bloodstream. I jumped off my seat and held my hand out to Natasha.

"Come on, let's dance." I said with a new happiness in my mind.

She shrugged and said "Alright." We joined the floor as E.T by Katy Perry started to play. "Yes, I love this song! I haven't heard it in ages!" I shouted over the music as I threw my hands in the air. Natasha danced to the song with me and we just realised that we didn't need anyone else to have a good time. Sam and Clint came over to us and we hugged them.

"Hey!" Clint smiled and hugged me tightly. "You are so amazing!" He let go of me and I looked at him curiously.

"How much have you had to drink?"  
"I don't know!" he shouted, smiling away. I bet at least 6 shots.

"Where's Cap?" I asked and Sam smiled.

"Of course you want to know the answer." he said and pointed over to a couple of tables in the corner of the room. Steve was with Vision, Wanda, Rhodey and Pepper. He was wearing a blue shirt and black trousers that really complimented his body. Really….really well. I walked over and sat down on a chair next to Steve.

"Hey soldier." I asked and he almost stopped moving for a second. He looked me and licked his lips subconsciously. I could almost feel his eyes burning through my clothes so I cleared my throat. Steve shook his head and apologised.

"I'm sorry. I j-just...you...you look great." he said, smiling slightly.

"Thank you." I smiled and asked "What's up?"

"Nothing much." He turned his head close to me so he could talk directly to me. "This is so cool."

"I know right. I thought that you would like it. I didn't think it would be your thing, but you seem to be fitting in all right. All of you do. Even Vision!" I said. I didn't think an android could fit into a party but he seems to be. Him and Wanda were sitting close together. _Hmm….suspicious._

"Have you had the chance to dance yet?" I asked and he shook his head.

"Don't really know how to in this crowd." he said, blushing slightly.

"Well, just go with it." I said, giving him my hand. "Want to join me?" I asked. He smiled and took my hand.

"Of course." he replied and I took him onto the dance floor to meet the others. He had some pretty sweet moves. I was quite surprised for an old dude to have such good moves. Natasha suggested that we get more drinks and I couldn't stop myself. _Let's just get wasted tonight! I need a night off._

About two hours into the night, I had had over 9 shots and a sip of the Almost Asgard drink. I was drunk, but I had quite a high drinking tolerance rate. I would be able to remember everything that happened tonight, but I would still get a headache tomorrow. The drinks seemed to help with the pain in my lower stomach that was slowly killing me. I was dancing with Nat, Steve and Sam and I was absolutely loving it.

"Hill! Hey slut!" someone shouted. _Can't wait for this person to ruin my night_ I thought as I turned around to look at them.

"Yes?" I asked, politely.

"What the hell do you think you're wearing? God, you look like a tramp!" she shouted and the club went silent, including the DJ.

"Hey! Don't be rude." Steve said, but I put my hand up.

"It's fine." I said to him and stepped forward to the rude girl. "You got something to say?" I asked, my drunkness definitely controlling my actions right now.  
"Yeah I have." she said. "Stop sleeping around with him…" she said, gesturing to Rogers. "and listen for once. You're a bitch everyone knows it. You shouldn't deserve to party with us." she said, her little 'bitches' coming up behind her. I recognised the bitch from training. Loved to flirt with all the guys, especially Rogers, and couldn't be assed to do her paperwork.

"I don't deserve to party with you?" I asked.

"Yeah, you can't even dance!" she shouted and the girl laughed at me from behind her. _Right, that's it._

"We'll see about that." I said, taking off the jacket I was wearing and throwing it behind me. "Natasha, gimme the shorts." I said and she chucked them to me. I took off my shoes and slipped on the denim jeans that if I'm honest made my ass look great. I tucked my dress underneath me so it looked like a top and she scowled at me. "DJ!" I shouted and he turned to me. "Play Bad Girls Remix by M.I.A" I said and people 'whooped' from the crowd obviously recognising the tune. **(** **watch?v=KEsK35vdF4U** **)** I circled the girls once before I broke into street dance. _I may be on my period, but that doesn't mean I can't dance._ The only reason why I was rude with this girl was because the woman fancied Rogers.

I completely and utterly thrashed the dance off. I had been taught how to street dance as part of one of my covers a couple of years ago. I never quite let it go. I absolutely loved smashing her reputation to pieces as I out maneuvered her constantly. I did the moonwalk and led it into three backflips which made the crowd go crazy. I stopped in a handstand and lowered my legs out so I finished in a box split. Everyone started shouting my name and I loved every second.

I did the worm four times and on the last one switched so I rolled forward and went into a flip to stand. I rolled my hips and lifted my hands up feeling like mother-fucking Beyonce. I'm pretty sure I saw Steve's jaw drop to the ground. I did some pop and lock neck moves before finishing in the splits. I got up and walked over to my 'competitor'.

"You think I can't dance now?" I asked and she went bright red before hurrying away with her girls. I turned to the audience who looked stunned by my skills. "Let's do this!" I screamed and the DJ changed the track to Bad Romance by Lady Gaga as everyone screamed.

I walked back over to the guys, picking up my shoes and jacket on the way. I got the them, pulled down my dress and pulled down the shorts without anyone noticing before handing them back to Natasha.

"Wow! That was fucking amazing!" Sam shouted, high fiving me.

"God, that employee is such a bitch. I'm glad you showed her who's boss." Natasha added, putting the shorts back in her bag.

"Your reputation has definitely gone up after this!" Wanda said, smiling. I put my shoes back on and turned to Steve who's jaw was still on the floor.

I brought my hand up and shut it for him. "You okay, soldier?" I asked, smirking and he nodded quickly.

"Uh...is that how...how people dance nowadays?"

"Believe me, it's usually much sluttier than that." Natasha said, slapping Steve on the shoulder.

"That was...brilliant." Steve said, still a bit shocked by my outburst.

"I don't usually do that sort of thing, but I made an exception for a rude member of personal." I smiled. "I am going to go and get another drink. Back in a minute." I said and left them to dance some more.

"Good job Hill." the guy behind the bar said and I smiled.

"Thanks." I replied.

"What's your drink this time? Another shot?" he asked and I nodded.

"Yep. Need it after all that." He went to get me my drink as some other girls came over, the same disgusted looks on their faces as the girls I challenged earlier. "Hi, is there a problem?"

"Yes, you are the problem." one of them said. She had blonde hair and wore some shorts with a crop top that made her cleavage burst so far out I thought it was going to hit me in the face.

"I don't understand." I said. There was no need to be rude.

"You are that killer. Black Death. Everybody is saying so." another one said. "I think it's best if you leave."

"Why?"

"Because you shouldn't be here. You may be able to dance your heart out to us, but we don't want to take it." the blonde one said.

The leader of the group said "You might as well just leave now. Nobody actually wants you here."

"Hey!" a voice came from behind me. It was Rhodey. "You may have your opinion of her and that's fine, but it is obviously not wanted here. So why don't you fuck off and take it with you." he said and the girls glared at him.

"This isn't over." the head girl warned and left us alone.

"Are you alright?" James asked and I nodded.

"Thank you." I replied, smiling. I looked over at the stage to see Tony shouting about something completely and utterly wasted, but I didn't expect any less. Wanda and Vision were dancing and so were Nat and Clint, Jane and Thor and Jess and Sam.

"That's alright. Did you want to dance to forget about them?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No thanks." I said. "I think i'm just going to go to bed. I don't really want to be here with everyone right now, but thank you."  
"Your shot, Miss Hill." the barman said and I looked at James.

"You want it?" I asked and he shrugged.

"Waste not, want not, right?" he said and I smiled as he downed the shot. "Speak to you tomorrow." he said and disappeared into the crowd.

I went to the door and looked back, noticing Steve staring at me, before I left for the elevator. I went inside and went up to the Avengers floor after JARVIS recognised who I was. Only a few members were allowed to the Avengers floor.

"Welcome home, Miss Hill." JARVIS said as the doors opened. I stepped out, looked around at the empty space and let it all sink in. There was no one home. Just me and my thoughts. I closed my eyes and breathed out. I thought about the purpose I had here. I was the Avengers carer, soon to be one of those Avengers and it was all I had been doing for years.

I went to my room and chucked my jacket and shoes on the floor before grabbing a hoodie and heading back to the living room. I went to the balcony door and held the cool metal of the handle encased in my fingers before opening the door.

Breathing in the cold air, I shut the door and sat on the floor, leaning against the glass windows. I trailed my right hand across my left arm, pulling up the sleeve of the hoodie, and noted the scars that lied there...scars from where I was abused. I remember the game they used to play at the White Room. If we were disobedient or did something wrong they would give us a strike...against our flesh. I closed my eyes and remembered the pain of the knife cutting against my skin. Sometimes I wanted them to press even harder so I could bleed out and the pain could end.

I looked at the marks there, hardly noticeable, and had the sudden realisation that people might have seen them at the party, but remembered that the lights were incredibly dark and no one would've been able to see them.

I breathed out from relief and closed my eyes. Pulling up my legs, I opened my eyes and looked at the stars in the sky. I always thought of the skies as souls. I thought like this to remind myself that I would never be up there with the pure one's. Steve would. Natasha would. Wanda would. All of the Avengers would. But not me.

I sighed and closed my eyes again. I heard a knock and turned around. I pulled my sleeve down as someone opened the balcony door. "Am I interrupting?" The sweet voice of Steve Rogers filled my ears and I couldn't have been happier to be interrupted by someone as amazing as him.

 **Hope you liked it! What do you think is going to happen next? Can't wait to upload the next chapter! PLEASE REVIEW! x**


	16. White Chocolate

**Previously:**

 **I sighed and closed my eyes again. I heard a knock and turned around. I pulled my sleeve down as someone opened the balcony door. "Am I interrupting?" The sweet voice of Steve Rogers filled my ears and I couldn't have been happier.**

"Not at all." I replied and turned my head back to the sky as he came over and sat down next to me. He held up his hand and gave me a chocolate bar.

"White chocolate? You remembered?" I asked. I can't believe he remembered my favourite food. God, he was so kind. No one has ever done something like this before. I know it's only chocolate, but he had always been there for me. It made me think about the little things that he did for everyone, not just me. Steve was such a good person and that's not only because he was from a time when they had more manners, but it's because he had a pure heart.

"Of course I did. I went to the kitchen and got some out of the cupboard." he smiled. "Are you cold at all?"

"No, I'm okay." I said, even though I was kind of freezing. He reached out and held my hand. The gesture felt so comforting even though he was only checking my temperature. His hands reminded me of camp fires, because they were just the right amount of heat, but not burning me.

"You're freezing Ria." he said and put his arm round me. Ria? Maybe Stark had a good point about him calling me Ria. Regardless of the intimacy, I smiled at the nickname. It was just something between him and me and it was nice to have that. He was so warm. It made me feel like I had never been warm in my life and this was the first time I had felt like it.

I broke off a bit of chocolate and handed it to him. He smiled, took it and ate a cube of it as he rubbed my shoulder. My other shoulder didn't feel rejected, because it was pressed against his warm chest. Maybe he became ammune to the cold or something after spending all that time in the ice. I felt a bit tired and yawned, placing my head on his shoulder. I looked up at the sky and said "What do you think about when you look at the stars?"

He looked up at them and I smiled at him. He stared at them almost as if he wanted to join them up there and then turned his head back to me. We were quite close, because he had his arm around me and I smiled at our proximity. _Don't think about kissing him. Don't you dare._

"I think they are us." he said simply and I frowned.

"What do you mean?" I asked, pulling my head up and looking into his eyes.

"I mean, I think that each star up there has it's own soul that pairs with us down here on Earth. When we die the star goes out with us, but when someone is born a new star is born with it." he explained.

"That's beautiful." I said and smiled at him again. He could be so mystical at times that I could almost forget who I was and where for a moment. _But you can't._ I thought and put my head back on his shoulder to avoid the temptation of kissing him.

I yawned again and went red from doing so. He chuckled slightly and asked "Are you tired?"

I nodded and felt sleep nearly reach me each time I shut my eyes, but Steve stood up, carefully leaving me to lean against the window. He extended his hand and I took it. "Let's go." he smiled and I nodded, allowing myself to be taken by his warm hand to my room. I scanned my finger on the door and we entered my room. I saw him take a quick glance at my room and I couldn't tell what he thought about it as my eyelids were shutting themselves.

He practically carried me over to my bed and pulled back the duvet before delicately placing me down on the mattress. "Goodnight Maria." he said and was about to walk away, but I caught his hand before he could. I really needed someone to stay with me tonight. I didn't want to be alone. Thinking earlier alone on the balcony made me feel so alone and I didn't want to ever be that way.

"Stay." I said and looked at the floor, slowly letting go of his hand. "I don't want to be alone."

He looked a bit hesitant and asked "Are you sure?" Maybe his 1945 instincts were kicking in about being a gentleman?

I nodded and he said "O-okay." He came round to the other side of the bed before climbing into bed beside me. I came close to him, but stopped myself for a moment.

"Do you mind?" I asked, putting up my hand. He nodded and I could tell he felt slightly uncomfortable about the situation, but I continued regardless. I placed my hand on his chest and instantly felt comfort at the warmth of his skin. I could feel his chest slightly rigid, but after a few moments he relaxed. I put my arm round him and rested my head on his chest as he put his arm around me.

"Night Steve." I whispered and shivered slightly, my body needing to heat up.

"Goodnight Maria." he replied and held me a little tighter as I fell asleep.

 **The next….well a couple of hours later**

Ow. Just ow. I felt like I had died a horrible death, but I didn't get the sweet release of leaving the world. Oh no. I just kept reliving it. My head felt like a boxer was trying to fight its way out of my brain and my feet felt like they were going to melt off at any minute. My stomach….my stomach felt like it was going to climb it's way out of my throat and wander down the corridor to get out of the place it was right now...HELL! Then there was my mind. My mind should've been focused on a strategy to get to the toilet in time before throwing up or wondering whether I was ever going to be able to walk again, but no...it decides to wonder where the hell Roger's was.

I opened my eyes, almost being blinded by the daylight outside, and summoned the effort to sit up. I looked down at my dress that was twisted round my body and slumped back down on the bed, not wanting to get up just yet. The pillow still smelt of him and I buried my head in it a bit more because of that factor. The thing that changed my mind however was the water on the bedside table. Heaven in a glass.

I sat up and drank the whole pint before putting it back down, noticing that there was a loose pair of grey shorts and a tank top on the side along with a zip up hoodie. I put my hand to my stomach as a stabbing pain hit it. Stupid mother nature. I went to the bathroom to sort myself out and brush my teeth to get rid of the drinking smell, which it did, before returning to my bedside table.

I slipped out of the dress and put on the clothes that were probably laid out by Steve. Hang on...what's that...? My nostrils detected a heavenly smell coming from the kitchen. I wandered over, my feet just being able to take it and found Steve in the kitchen cooking fried eggs.

"Good morning." he said and smiled. His smile made me feel like falling on the floor. "Thought you would want something to eat." he said, sliding the eggs onto some pre-buttered toast. _Oh my God...he's perfect._ I sat down and he brought me over the plate. "Hope you like them."

I breathed in the smell of the eggs and smiled as he sat down with me. "How come I'm lucky enough to have you cook me breakfast?" I asked and he shrugged, going red slightly. I didn't really register the words that left my mouth, but I decided not to say anything else. I took the hoodie off, feeling a bit warm, and tucked into the eggs. _Oh my God! They are perfect. He is perfect. Everything feels perfect in this moment. Rogers cooking me breakfast and us just sitting here together. It felt natural in a way._

"Fate must've brought us together." he suggested and laughed, drinking some of his orange juice. I noticed the freshly picked flowers on the centre of the table and smiled.

"Thank you." I said, slowly taking my eyes away from the flowers to look at his face.

"For what?" he asked and I laughed slightly at his cuteness. _Too polite!_

"For looking after me last night. For leaving me a water this morning, leaving me clothes and cooking me the best breakfast I've ever had. I really don't deserve it." I said, shovelling some more of the egg into my mouth.

"You deserve that and more." he said, smiling, and ate some more of the breakfast he made. "I think there is still some white chocolate left by the way." he said and looked around for the packet, before locating the chocolate and grabbing it. "Yep, there is. You want some with your breakfast?" he asked, handing me the packet. _He knows exactly what I need._

I took it gratefully and smiled at him with a real sense of passion. "How are you so nice?"

He blushed and looked down at his plate. I only realised now that he blushes much more than the usual person. Even though I knew he was confident, I also got the impression that he was shy, especially when it came to women. "I guess I brought my manners with me from 1945." he said. I had almost forgotten that he was from that time. Apart from the politeness, different language terms and technology gap you never would've guessed it. People probably thought that he took steroids. He frowned at something and asked "What's that on your arm?"

I looked down and completely forgot that my marks were there. I quickly slipped my jacket back on and quietly said "It's nothing."

"Are you okay Maria?" he asked and I slammed my cutlery down, my hormones driving my emotions crazy.

"It's nothing." I said, angrily, making my head hurt, but then realised how rude I was being. "Oh God...I'm sorry." I said and got up out of my chair. The noise it made when I stood up made me squint slightly.

"I didn't mean it like that. It's just...they are from my past." I said and looked at the floor. "My trainers...weren't exactly the kindest…." I explained and then shook my head. "Sorry, feel...feel free to leave." I said, gesturing flippantly towards the door as I went to the sofa. _He must think I'm a freak._ _Even more than before._ I curled up on the side of it and thought about how big the sofa actually was. It was the comfiest sofa ever and you could sleep on top of it, because of its size. Technically you could get about three people sleeping on this one sofa. I pulled my sleeves over my hands, feeling a bit self conscious about my body and pulled up my knees. I heard some footsteps and waited for the door to shut. _Rogers wouldn't want to know about me now._

I felt a dip beside me and turned round to see Steve sitting beside me. In a moment of carelessness, I turned to him and snuggled up in his chest like I did the night before. "I'm sorry." I whispered into his chest.

"It's okay." he said and stroked my arm. "We all have our pasts." he whispered and held me tighter. I felt relaxed slightly and wrapped my arms around him. _What are you doing?_ I thought. _You are in the arms of your crush? Captain America? Steve Rogers? The greatest guy on the planet that probably hasn't even had sex yet….don't think about that! What do you do now you are here, huh? Make a move? Step back and stop it...but you don't want to step back and stop it..._ We remained there for a while whilst my thoughts flooded through my head - I couldn't find the barrier to stop them.

 _"Guys…"_ a shredded voice said from over the speakers. _"The computers are running facial recognition tests on ex S.H.I.E.L.D agents to track down HYDRA members. If you don't feel like coming in then don't, because most of us aren't. I need to make an announcement, because Fury is a dick. His announcement is anyone who was on Strike Team Beta needs to report to Fury tomorrow at 0900 hours at the Avengers reception. I don't know why. Secondly, the party last night was shamazing. There's a hangover cure on the back of your doors, which you will definitely need._ _Thirdly, Maria's moves were damn fine last night and I think everyone can agree with that."_ I heard some whooping from outside and turned my head to see some agents cheering from the training field, obviously people who didn't drink last night. _I want to be them so badly._ I saw Steve smirk at me when Tony mentioned the dance moves and I felt a blush creep up my cheeks.

 _"Have a good day sleeping or eating or shagging or exercising if you are crazy people that don't drink alcohol. Peace."_ he finished. Tony's vocals sounded like it had been through a blender twenty times and then dragged through a hedge.

 _"Avengers, i'm speaking directly to you. Stay in your shagging caves. Bruce is the only one working and I am sleeping for the whole day. Work starts again tomorrow._ " he said and I felt a little embarrassed about Tony's choice of words.

My stomach decided to stab itself again, I hissed slightly and I thought that Steve must think I am acting really strangely. I stretched my body fully out and his hand went to my lower stomach. He started stroking it and I smiled.

"What are you doing?" I asked, my tone light so he wouldn't think I was angry at him, because I liked him doing it.

"I'm sorry." he said, beginning to pull his hand away. "I just thought it would make you feel better."

I got his hand lightly and put it back on my stomach, smiling. "It is making me feel better." I said and shut my eyes as he drew circles over my top. I sighed and relaxed against his hand. My brain was kind of having a party about the fact that Steve Roger's was being so intimate with me, but I ignored it as I wanted to enjoy the moment. Periods suck. But Steve was making me feel much better. "How did you even know that I was on my period?" I asked, hoping that it wouldn't make him feel too awkward, but it didn't seem to make him feel that way. I didn't open my eyes to see him blush. I thought that I would let him off this once.

"What? You think I didn't have an education?" he asked and I laughed. I almost felt like falling asleep again, but kept myself awake to enjoy the feeling. I got his hand, lifted up my top slightly and placed his hand back in the same position so that I could feel his skin against mine. His hand was so warm and soft. It was like having my own personal hot water bottle. I came a little closer to him, guiding his hand round to my back. He stroked the bottom of my back and I brought my hands round to hug him. The sofa did act like a bed at the minute and I smiled at our closeness.

"You okay?" he asked, sounding slightly nervous, and I nodded.

"Never better." I replied and put my leg on top of his slightly. He seemed a little phased by this to start with, but then relaxed. I wondered whether Steve had ever done this with anyone before, been this intimate with someone. I would ask him later, because it was definitely a time to relax.

"Can we just sit here all day?" he asked and I nodded.

"I would love to just sit here all day." I replied and laughed against his chest. He laughed too and stroked my arm.

"Hey…" he started and I lifted my head up, taking my leg off of him so I could look at him properly. "You really didn't have to tell me about those scars by the way. You don't have to...reveal stuff like that if you don't feel comfortable." he said and sat up straight.

I joined him and said "But I feel good doing so. It feels nice to share that kind of stuff with you."

He smiled and lightly pulled me into a hug. I really liked spending time with Steve, but the more I did it the more I got attracted to him. I wasn't sure whether this was a problem or not, because Fury wasn't exactly my boss anymore, so this wasn't fraternization. More like a relationship that could be switched to professionalism in a moments notice. However, I still had that doubt that Peggy Carter was on his mind. I pulled away and lay down on the sofa, shutting my eyes. He joined my level and placed an arm around me. I wondered whether sitting up was a tactic to get away from me, but evidentially not.

"Miss Hill, you are requested in the kitchen. Just Miss Hill." JARVIS said and I groaned, flipping my face onto the sofa. Steve laughed at my actions.

"What do I have to do to get some rest around here?" I asked, my voice muffled, which made Steve laugh again, but I reluctantly got up and went to the door. I looked back at Cap who just smiled at me and waved goodbye. I smiled back, ignoring the fluttering in my chest, and exited the room.

Once I got into the kitchen, I saw the whole Avengers team apart from Tony there. They were basically all in pyjamas and half asleep. "I don't want to be here." Falcon said, bluntly. "None of us do apart from Natasha and Vision, because they are the only two people that are awake right now." Sam said, leaning against the wall. Vision was talking quietly with Wanda in his arms and Natasha was writing something down on a piece of paper at the table. "Stupid Russian. Stupid android." he muttered.

"Geat. Now...what is this about?" I asked, wanting to go back to sleep.

"This is about Steve Rogers." Clint whispered, obviously near death.

"What about him?" I asked, but I kind of already knew what they wanted to talk about.

"You and him. The power couple. You two seriously need to get together. I can't stand talking with him about it." Sam said.

"He...talks about me?" I asked.

"Ha! I knew you liked him!" James shouted, pointing at me, and everyone groaned at him.

"I hate you right now." Clint said to him, covering his ears with the nearest set of empty bowls.

"What do you mean that he talks to you about me?" I asked.

"You want to know because you like him right?" Scott asked, another person who seemed to be sober out of the group.

"YES! I like him!" I shouted, a bit too loudly. Everyone shouted at me, as loud as they could, but then went back to being quiet as they were just making their heads hurt. To be honest, I completely and utterly regretted shouting, because my head now hurt too. I'm pretty sure that Clint passed out as his head was on the table. "What do you mean he talks about me, Sam?" I said, moving to Clint to take the bowls off of him before they smashed on the floor.

"He's always going on...about how he likes you, but has always been too afraid of asking you out."

"Why?" I asked, ignoring the snore that came from Clint.

"Why do you think? It's Steve. He's scared you'll reject him." Sam replied and I nodded.

"Right." I said. So that means that he doesn't know how I feel.

"God, please just go out with him. He does not stop going on about how amazing you are." he said, causing colour to flood to my cheeks. "Take last night for example. Guys in the room, I'm sure that you can agree Steve would not stop going on?"

There were many groans around the room along with Clint, who had suddenly woken up, nodding. "Okay, what did he talk about with you guys?"

"Well, it began with how beautiful you looked, but then time went on and he drank more and got drunk slightly and he was telling us how sexy you looked in your outift and how he really wanted to-"

I held my hand up. "Yep, that's enough."

"Kiss you." he finished with wide-eyes, but then his face changed to one with a smirk. "What did you think I was going to say?"

"Nothing." I said firmly, but red was practically bursting out of my cheeks. The others laughed and I rolled my eyes before asking "Is that it?" and they nodded.

"Pretty much." Clint said and got up. "Let's go." he said, slinging his arm around Natasha and they all headed back to their caves. Apart from one.

"Hey, look. You really should consider being with Steve." Scott said.

"What so I can mess it up? So I can ruin his chances of finding a relationship with someone...normal?" I asked and he shook his head.

"Look, you are normal and you are bound to make mistakes, but you and Steve have something special between you. I can tell. Believe me, I've been married and-"

"Divorced?" I asked and he laughed.

"Yes, that too. I was gonna say that I've been married and I can tell when it is real or not. You two have something real between you." he said and brushed past me. "Go and tell him how you feel."

I thought about it for a minute. Steve must have meant what he said to the others. They wouldn't lie about this and Natasha wouldn't go along with all this unless that factor was true. Maybe this was a good idea. I mean, I do want to be with him...maybe I've just been tricking myself into thinking I don't like him when I do…"Okay...I'll do it." I said and he left me in the kitchen for a moment. I breathed out and then made my way back to my room.

I opened the door and entered the room slowly. Steve was on the couch and his head turned as soon as the door opened. He smiled, the sun reflecting onto his God-like face, and said "Hey Ria."

"Hey…" I said came to sit next to him. I stayed sitting, because I didn't really know what to do. Just ask him out or tell him how you feel or do something! I put my head against his shoulder and considered it progress even though it was nothing for us because he was rubbing my stomach about five minutes ago. _Just do it. Tell him how you feel. All you need to say are the three little words of I like you. Go on. Do it. Forget about everything else. Forget about S.H.I.E.L.D and the Avengers. This guy likes you and you like him too. You may not meet anyone the same as Steve Rogers. Actually, as a matter of fact you will never meet anyone like Steve Rogers._ I didn't realise that I was gritting my teeth and clenching and unclenching my hands on Steve's top until he spoke up.

"Maria, are you okay?" he asked and I lifted my head up. "You seem a little…..I don't know...on edge?"

"I umm…errr...I just..." I started to speak, but I couldn't seem to form my sentences. I was meant to be the head of the Avengers, but I couldn't speak. What is wrong with me?

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"I…" I looked at his face and really examined it this time. He has a perfect complexion. And that is no exaggeration. I mean there is no single flaw for Steve anyway, personality wise or physically. His blue eyes were almost hypnotizing, because I couldn't stop staring into them. They were perfect. My eyes flickered to his lips and I got nervous about staring at them for too long, because I might have been tempted to kiss them. _Is that a bad thing?_

My eyes flickered back to his and I could see his lips tugging into a small smile. We were leaning against the couch, heads turned to each other, just staring into his eyes for what seemed like eternity.

Knowing that he wouldn't, I leaned in. My head was screaming 'What the hell are you doing?' but my heart was thing the opposite. _You know what you're doing_ I though calmly. I felt so drawn to him and as I leaned in, I moved my hand on the back of his neck. I delicately placed my lips on his. It was almost as if I never did it at all it was so light, a whisper of a kiss. I pulled away and looked at him. He still had his eyes closed. _Was that good or bad?_

"Steve?" I asked, trying to get his attention. His eyes slowly opened and he stared at me.

"You meant that?" he asked, breathing a little raggedly.

"Yes." I said, firmly. I know what I want now...I want him. He leaned in and pressed a firm kiss to my lips as his hand trailed up my arm and shoulder to reach the back of my neck. Our kisses were strong and I couldn't help but smile as we did them. We moved perfectly together and I closed my eyes, melting into his arms. He smiled back against my lips and I felt like I was in heaven. He played with the hair on the back of my neck and I laughed quietly. _Am I in heaven right now? Because it certainly feels like it_ I thought as we continued to kiss. His lips were soft and just as irresistible as I imagined. I wanted to spend the whole of today kissing them. Yep. That was the plan.

"Wow." he whispered between one of the kisses and I chuckled. Steve made me feel like I was human again. No one has been able to do that. The White Room was always drawing me back, but Steve made me feel...modern even if he was from the 1940's. His lips were firm against mine and we were so in sync. As he grew more confident in himself, he pushed his lips a bit harder against mine and I reacted with the same firmness, like I was almost encouraging and teaching him how to kiss. I let myself enjoy the kisses he gave me until there was a knock at the door. I pulled away from him, gasping as I did, and turned to look at it.

"I should probably get that." I said, but he lightly pulled me back to look at him.

"JARVIS, who is it that wants to interrupt us and find out what they want?" he asked between kisses. He was certainly happy with what he was doing. Steve seemed so delighted to be with me and I was overjoyed to be with him. He placed his hand on my hip and stroked it as my tongue glided over his bottom lip. I didn't think that he had gone this far with anyone, because I could tell he was nervous as he kissed me even though he appeared as confident.

After 10 seconds, JARVIS spoke up again. "It is Director Fury. He wishes to speak with Miss Hill."

My eyes went wide and I pulled away from Steve quickly. "Shit!" I cursed.

"Langua-" he stopped himself, shook his head and I laughed. "Sorry, reflexes!"

My face suddenly went serious. "Get in my bedroom."

"Excuse me!" His eyes went wide and I rolled my eyes.

"I need to get rid of Fury. Now go." I said, kissing his cheek and he left with a smile on my face. I straightened the sofa before brushing myself down and walking over to the door. I took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Director." I greeted, keeping one hand on the door.

"May I come in?" he asked. Yes of course. That's why I was keeping my hand on the door to stop you entering.

"Of course." I said, politely. He won't find out. He won't. Steve's in the bedroom and Fury is certainly not going in there.

"I am here to discuss some evidence I found this morning."

"Evidence? For what case?" I asked as he sat down on the sofa that me and Steve were kissing on just a few moments ago.

"For yours." he said and handed me a file labelled 'Black Death threat.' No. "The evidence I have is this." he added and flipped the folder open to show a photo. Of me. Dressed in her costume.

 **Hope you liked this :) Can't wait to expand on this story more. Got a Quicksilver and OC one coming up soon, which I can't wait to share! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	17. Flowers

**Spitfire303 and GabycatStark13 thank you for your reviews! I really appreciate them.**

 **Previously:**

 **"I am here to discuss some evidence I found this morning."**

 **"Evidence? For what case?" I asked as he sat down on the sofa that me and Steve were kissing on just a few moments ago.**

 **"For yours." he said and handed me a file labelled 'Black Death threat.' No.** **"The evidence I have is this." he added and flipped the folder open to show a photo. Of me. Dressed in her costume.**

"29 of our agents are dead after going on a mission to track down some missing tech from Ultron that was detected from an office building."

"I really am her." I said, leaning back against the chair, letting it all sink in. Steve won't want to date a killer. I know I told the team, but this confirms that I'm her...and that I killed our agents.

"Because of this I will need to interrogate you." Fury said. "I hope you understand."

"No, I don't. This wasn't me." He looked suspiciously at me and told me to follow him. I thought I was the killer then, but I had always felt like I wasn't her anymore. This happened only a few hours ago. He took me to the entrance of my room and I looked back at the bedroom door. Sorry Steve.

Everything was so perfect with Steve and now it was all going to be over. I felt bad for kissing him now that I was being accused of this. I followed Fury into the kitchen where the Avengers were all seated. "I gathered them as soon as I discovered the information."

Clint seemed a bit cautious of me, but I ignored him for the minute. "Where's Steve?" I asked.

"Here." he said, walking up from the kitchen door. "Sorry I'm late. I had some stuff I had to do."

"Sit down, Rogers." Fury instructed and he did so. He looked up at me and I tried to avoid his gaze, not to give the implication to the others that anything had happened this morning. I could tell he was confused. He must have heard what me and Fury were talking about this morning.

"Where were you this morning at 4am?" he asked.

"In my room, sleeping."

"JARVIS can you confirm this?" he asked, not letting his one eyed stare leave my eyes.

"I don't own any records of bedroom temperature signals or camera recordings." he said. "However, I detected that someone did leave from the Avengers floor at 3:30am this morning."

"Can you tell who it was?" Fury asked, walking back and forth slowly. The other Avengers were busy looking at the table all but Clint and Steve who were focused on me.

"From the security footage I have, someone exited Maria's window at 3:30am. I do not have the person's identity."

"So…" Fury started, turning his head towards me. "someone left your window at 3:30 this morning without waking you up just half an hour before a killer that looks like you murdered 29 agents? And you are saying that that killer isn't you?" Fury asked, incredulously.

"I didn't do it." I said, firmly. "I may have killed back then, but I certainly don't kill now unless it is by order of you or Ste-Rogers." I said, trying to forget the fact that I just stumbled upon Steve's name.

"The evidence points directly towards you, Hill. I can't get you out of this unless you have a damn good explanation." he said, glaring at me. The others looked confused. Confused that I would do such a thing? Confused that I supposedly betrayed them? Confused that I was apparently lying?

"Maria didn't do it." Steve said. What is he doing? I gave him a confused look like the others, but he could tell that mine was a bit stronger. What is he going to say? Is he going to say that I kissed him. He looked up at us all. "Last night, or this morning, Maria was intoxicated and I took her back to her room."

"JARVIS, can you confirm?" Fury asked.

"You went back to her room?" Clint asked, raising an eyebrow. He was always protective over me, even if I was the person that killed his brother. I still got the impression that he hadn't forgiven me. I still felt guilty and he was still angry. I could just tell.

"Nothing happened. I just...made sure that she was alright and I slept on the coach if you really want to know." Steve said, a little angry that Clint would think he would take advantage of me. Maybe Steve cared for me more than I thought?

The girls all smiled and Tony said "Sure. Nothing happened."

Steve was about to respond when JARVIS replied "Confirmed. Steve Rogers took Maria to her room."

"That doesn't explain the person leaving through the window this morning." James asked, still confused as were the others.

"Yes, that was me too." Steve admitted.

"So you did sleep in her bedroom with her?" Tony asked and Steve shook his head.

"The main door is too noisy and I didn't want to wake anyone up anyway, so I used the window instead."

"But why did you need to go in the first place?" Wanda asked.

"I uh...I wanted to er…" Steve said, not really wanting to admit...whatever..he was...going to say…

"Spit it out…" Natasha said, getting bored of the pondering.

"Well, I went to uhh...get her some flowers…." he said, scratching the back of his head and going red slightly.

"Aww….how sweet." Pepper said and then hit Tony. "I wish my boyfriend would do that." she said, trying to take the heat off of us, but I realised that she said 'boyfriend' and I immediately interjected.

"We're not together." I said at the same as Steve said it. We looked at each other and he leant back on his chair in silence.

"Hey! I've done so many nice things for you." Tony said, pouting.

"You gave me strawberries." Pepper said, throwing her hands in the air. I was glad that their row was taking the heat off of me and Steve. I glanced at him and he flicked his eyes from me to Rhodey.

"Aren't you allergic to strawberries?" Rhodey asked.

"Exactly." she said, crossing her arms.

"Back to the subject!" Fury interrupted. "Rogers going out to get you….flowers…" he said as if he was describing something repulsing. _Great...the attention is back on us._ However, Steve getting me flowers is sweet and adorable. "and the fact that you didn't leave through any of the doors still doesn't explain the fact that your picture was on the security footage. The photo is of you after all."

"I swear I didn't do it."

"I have someone in interrogation that says you did. This murderer let one person go. There were thirty agents assigned to the mission."

 _Why did the murderer let one go?_ I looked down at the floor. _Shit_. "Am I going to prison?" I asked.

Fury cleared his throat. "In twenty four hours I have to release this to the authorities. In twenty four hours you will be going to prison." He raised his eyebrows. "Twenty four hours." he said, before leaving us in the kitchen.

I got the message. Twenty four hours to catch the person who was trying to be me, even though I had the doubt in my mind that I did this in my sleep, unaware of my actions. "So how long do we have?" Tony asked and I rolled my eyes.

"Obviously this isn't Hill. We need to find out who the impersonator is. Banner search security footage from the offices. Every last detail. Me, Maria, Clint and Antman will scope out the location of the incident. Stark, you are on comms. We'll tell you about the information we find and send it. We need good communication to get this done quickly, because they will only give us a short amount of time at the scene. Nat, you're on interrogation." Steve ordered. Everyone seemed to agree with him.

"Definitely a no on the sex? Seriously!" Tony said, sniggering as he waltzed out of the room with Bruce. Everyone left but me, Clint and Scott who talked with a blushing Steve about the mission.

"Suit up." He said. "Meet on the roof in twenty minutes." He said and I got my brain into gear. Mission. Tasks. Completing stuff. Uhh...stop thinking about it. Steve kissed me. He kissed me. MULTIPLE TIMES! I can't believe it actually happened. It felt more comfortable than it did the first time in a restaurant of people. That was a mission circumstance. This was off his own back, which was why I was so happy inside.

I was going to walk to my room, but someone shouted "Hill. With me for a moment."

I turned round and smiled at Steve as the others walked past me. "Of course, Captain." I said, trying to stop a smile sneaking onto my face and keep up our formal image. He looked around, checking that no one was there before speaking.

"I wanted to apologise." He said. Okay definitely not what I was expecting. "If I was too rushed with you then I completely under-"

"You think I regret what I did earlier? I don't." I interrupted, but my face faltered as I realised what he might have been getting at. "If you don't like me after that I completely understand."

"No, no. Definitely not." He replied, rushed to speak. "I don't want you thinking that my opinion of you has changed in any way. I know you didn't do it."

"How can you be so sure?" I asked, curious. He was always loyal, but he seemed pretty certain.

"Because...well..." he said, looking at the floor as if it were the most interesting thing at the time.

"Because what Cap?" I asked and he bit his lip.

"Because...I was keeping an eye on you...while you were sleeping..." he said, squinting as if I would hit him for doing so. He put his hands up. "I just wanted to keep you safe okay? Please don't kill me."

"Don't worry about it." I said, putting my hand on his shoulder. "I'm not going to kill you for it."

"Good." he said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Also, it makes me feel better knowing that I didn't do it." I said, my hand gliding down his arm. I held his hand and he smiled at me. We stood there for what seemed like half an hour just staring into each others eyes. They were beautiful. They were blue and calmed me more than I first realised. Apart from raising my heart rate, they relaxed me and made me feel comfortable around him.

"Uh..." I started, disconnecting my hand from his. "We had better go and get ready." I said and shook his head, to clear his thoughts, before nodding in agreement.

"Of course." he replied and walked with me to the bedroom corridor. He opened the door for me, like usual, and we walked to our rooms. I waved a slightly awkward goodbye to him before entering my room. _Man, what have I gotten myself into?_

 _I hope I can straighten out my work life and Steve._ I thought to myself as I began to get ready. _Obviously, no one knows that we are dating, which means that we need to stop ourselves from being seen in public more than usual._ Steve was one of those people that didn't want to let things go. I think, because of the ice, he felt that when he had something, like a friendship or any relationship really, he wanted to hold onto it for as long as he could. He was worried that it would leave him again, just like he left everyone behind when he went under the ice.

I slipped on my old suit and headed out of the door, forgetting what I had just thought about. I met Scott in the hall.

"Hello Scott." I smiled.

"Hey Hill." he said, holding up his hand that was covered in the red material of his suit.

"I just wanted to say that I need to go over transferring Hope to this facility with Fury. Everything should go smoothly, but I would prepare a list of arguments just incase."

"Okay." he nodded.

"I made sure that your family is being guarded by agents that are highly trained." I reassured him.

"Thanks Maria. I really appreciate you doing that for me." he said and I noticed his shoulders relax slightly.

"That's alright."

"Yeah, but you've got your own issues right now. You didn't need to do that." he said and I felt as if people were wrapping me in cotton wool. I wasn't very comfortable with it. I coughed slightly and shuffled my shoulder slightly.

"It's the least that I could do." I said.

"You should feel happy about having us you know. I sense sometimes that you are upset about us being here to protect you. Looking after you. I get the feeling that...sometimes you don't want us here." he admitted and I slowly came to a stop. I looked at him curiously.

"Is that the opinion you have formed?" I asked and he suddenly looked pressurised.

"Uh..I..."

"Answer me honestly." I said, raising an eyebrow.

"...Obviously I don't just make a judgement and then stick to it, but by going on what's been happening with the team I was just thinking that you don't really...want our help..." He said, sighing slightly. "I know you think you're a monster. I've seen it before with other people, but...you can't let that take over. You were a monster...the exaggeration being on the were..." he said, huffing a laugh. "How are you doing though...really?"

"I still...feel guilt I guess." I replied, trying not to bear my soul to him, but not leave him wanting too much information. He didn't seem like the kind of guy who would manipulate you to get information. He seemed like a sweet guy. "I think they view me differently now."

"They may have changed their view a bit, but they don't hate you Maria." he said. I couldn't tell whether he meant this positively or negatively towards me, but I could feel it relax me a bit. _I wonder how their opinions changed?_ "You ever thought about a family Maria?"

"What?" I asked as we began to walk down the corridor again. "Me and family? I really... _really_ can't imagine that happening."

"Neither did I." he replied, swinging his arms about. "But I met this beautiful girl and she really changed me. That relationship resulted in little Cassie, so I have no regrets about it."

"Apart from your divorce?"

"We kinda...lost interest I guess. We had arguments and we thought it was best for our daughters sake to split and I'm happy we did. Wouldn't have Hope if we didn't."

"So are you and Hope...together?"

"Yeah, kinda. Well, I don't know. I don't really understand what's going on with us. Nothing bad, but we just haven't had the chance to hang out since I joined."

"Well hopefully getting her here will give you the chance to do that." I said, opening the set of doors that led us into the living room.

"God, she absolutely kills me in training."

"I've heard that she is one of the best." I agreed, smirking at the idea of Scott being beaten to a pulp. He completely thrashed Falcon, I saw the footage and laughed at him, and Sam was pretty miffed about it. Maybe this will give him some sort of payback.

"Yep, she definitely is. So how about Steve? You two been getting along recently."

"Me and Captain Rogers have been getting along fine, thank you." I replied, making sure to not use his first name. "He is a great leader."

"You think I didn't realise?" he asked.

I raised an eyebrow, trying to not understand what he was trying to say. "Realise what?" I asked, climbing into the elevator with him. I noticed some of the team enter the living room.

"That you are interested in him." he said and my eyes went wide, worried that the people on the other side of the room would hear. I looked over, but the doors were shutting and I couldn't see whether they had heard or not.

"Scott! Do you want to say that any louder? Also, you are incorrect. I am not interested in Steve." I snapped, tapping my foot from the thought of everyone believing I liked Steve.

"I practically whispered it and you definitely do. Out of all the Avengers, who is the only one that has been married?" he said, raising his hand. "Me!" His smile faltered. "Wait...Widow...was Natasha married?"

"I don't believe so." I said, lying because Natasha was the only one who had the right to share her secrets.

"Anyway, you think that a married man doesn't sense a connection between people after all that he has been through?"

"You can?" I asked, suddenly aware about every little action that I had done around Rogers. The little touches and the looks...I guess that they had all been a chance for him to recognise me. "Not that you would recognise anything between us."

"There is a huge amount of chemistry between you two and I definitely think that there is something going on behind closed doors." he said and I acted confused.

"There is nothing going on between me and him."

"We'll see." he said as the doors opened. Steve was standing there with Clint talking about something. Clint saw me and tapped Rogers chest. They seemed to shut up immediately and Steve's eyes widened for a moment before relaxing back to their normal state.

"Closed doors." Scott said as he pretended to cough. Steve looked at him worried.

"Are you alright, Lang?" he asked and Scott nodded.

He pretended to rub his throat as if it were sore. "Yeah..." he said and coughed again. "There's just so much chemistry in the air."

"Right." Steve said, looking confused, but brushed it off as him being slightly weird. I rolled my eyes at him and Clint smiled, catching onto the joke. "Is that a code or something? Because I've never heard that before."

"I was talking about the particles in the air. You know, spreading colds and stuff." he said, very easily coming up with the excuse.

"Oh right." he said, coming to realisation of the science behind it. Poor Steve.

"We ready to go then?" I asked and Clint nodded.

"Everything is strapped in and wheels are ready to go."

"Great." I smiled.

On the way there, Scott sat in the passenger seat next to Clint who was flying the helicopter. I sat next to Rogers. I was still worried about everything. I looked up and Clint's eyes caught mine as he stared at me through the mirror in the control room. His eyes wavered and I could tell that he was still a little unsure about me. I didn't realise that I had started tapping my foot and tightly lacing my hands together until Steve placed his hands on top of mine. I stopped immediately and stared at him, slowly retracting my hands away.

"What are you doing? They'll see." I warned.

"They won't." he said and turned to face me more, blocking Clint's view of us with his body. "They won't now anyway." he said and smiled at me. "Don't worry about the mission. I'll get you out of this. I promise." He stroked my hand and I smiled, just taking in the blissfulness of the moment. It would soon be ruined by the mission, but I didn't care. All I cared about in that moment was the two of us and how we just clicked together.

"How can you be so sure?" I asked, the hopeful tone scraped away and replaced with that of what seemed like misery. How _did I do it? How did I manage to get out of the tower? I must've used a secret passageway or something. Steve must've fallen asleep when he was watching over me._

"Because there has to be evidence that it wasn't you. There has to be." he said and took my hand in his. "I can't lose you...now that I've only just found you, I can't let you go." I smiled and tried to keep myself from crying with happiness.

"Way to be dramatic Steve." I said and smiled, laughing slightly.

"Yeah..." he said, looking towards the ground and blushing.

"It's cute." I said and he shook his head, laughing himself.

"What? That I'm dramatic?" he asked, propping himself up on his seat more.

"No. It's cute how you care." I admitted and he looked me in the eyes. "I never thought that someone could feel that way about me. It's nice to know that." I looked at the ground, suddenly feeling embarrassed myself, but soon caught his gaze again.

He slowly leant towards me, but before our lips could touch someone shouted from the flight station. "Cap!" Scott shouted and we pulled away immediately. I looked up. Luckily, the boys were too interested in looking at the path ahead of them instead of looking at us. "Touchdown in 20 seconds."

"Alright." he said and got up. I followed after him and smiled. I knew we would talk about us later, but for now a smile would do for now seeing as we couldn't talk with the others being there. We landed and Scott and Clint came to join us.

"So, Tony has cleared it with police to give us half an hour. Just half an hour. We will work together to gather all the information that we can." Steve instructed us as we exited the helicopter. There was a huge barrier around the area that the agents were killed in to warn off any unwanted press or civilians. The site in question was near a set of office buildings that some agents were following a case on.

A police officer came up to us. "You have half an hour Avengers. I can give you all the information we have so far if it would help." he said.

"Thank you. We'd appreciate that." I replied and he nodded, getting an agent to give us the files.

"Obviously, we were instructed not to move the bodies, but the evidence we have so far is this. 29 agents, all ex-S.H.I.E.L.D." he said, not knowing that they indeed worked for the Avengers. "19 of the throats were slit, one was choked to death by the murderers hands and then the rest were knocked out by multiple blows to the head. We haven't got security footage, but I heard you guys are taking care of that."

"Thank you." Clint said and he smiled before leaving us to it. Steve instructed everyone, apart from the security guards, to leave us alone at the site to investigate.

"Hold up," Clint said, crouching down to inspect his body. "there are carvings on the back of this one's neck." He turned to the other one. "And this one."

"I think they all do. Antman, shrink and identify the carvings on the back of their necks." Steve said and Scott nodded.

"Got it." he said and shrunk down to the size of an ant. It was quite fascinating watching him move around so quickly. It was hard to get my head around the size of him. "Okay...first letter is an E."

"Stark, you getting this." Cap asked, but didn't get a response. "Stark?" he said a little louder.

 _"Jeez, I'm here grandpa. No need to shout."_ he replied and Steve cringed a bit at the grandpa joke. I agreed with Steve that it was getting old. _"Okay. E. Got it._ "

"T...M...I...S...P...H...T...W...O...another O...S..."

 _"Oh my God, how many more?"_ Stark asked, impatiently.

"Nearly done." Scott replied. "Okay, not nearly done, but we are like half way there." Stark groaned and Scott said "I will try and speed it up...R..L..S..L..T..K..P..L..C..E..A..T..T..A..A..E..and K."

 _"Thank God, we are finished."_ he said and Scott grew to his normal size again.

"Sorry I couldn't be quicker." he said. I felt a bit sorry for him being the new guy, but I knew he would fit in with us. I mean them. The Avengers.

"Believe me, you saved a lot of time." Cap said and slapped him on the back.

 _"Oh God..."_ Stark said.

"What is it?" Clint asked.

 _"The message is...two more shall take it's place."_

We looked at each other and Steve's jaw tensed. "Hydra." he said, quietly, almost as if saying it loudly would call them all here. If felt sorry for Steve, because he had travelled through time and HYDRA still had him running.

"Clint...overview." he said, not really looking like he could talk about anything else.

"The killer has used the pattern of throat slitting instead of their traditional pattern of stabbing them straight in the heart. This implies that it wasn't Maria, but someone else. Killing someone with the same method that many times can't be a coincidence."

"That won't be enough evidence though." I said, pacing around the area with no bodies around it. I could see Steve's eyes following me as I moved and I felt conscious of what I was doing, so I stopped.

"Okay. Let's scan all the bodies and set up the perimeter around them all. Antman, Clint, you two go and inspect around the area."

They nodded and exited through the tarpaulin that was set around the bodies. I puled out the body scanned, squatted over one of the bodies and checked it. Steve squatted next to me and I smiled at him briefly before returning to the task.

"Ria..." he began, looking around before placing his hand on my shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked, stroking my shoulder gently. It killed for him to touch me...I felt bad for making him feel this way about me in this mess that we were in.

"Yeah. I'm...coping." I said, gulping subconsciously. I could feel my hand shaking and tightened my grip on the scanner, hoping that it would stop me shaking.

"Maria, stop." he said, almost as an order, but he always made it sound so soft and innocent unless he was shouting at Stark, Sam or Clint to stop pissing about.

I looked at him and he turned his head at me to be at the same angle as me. He smiled softly and whispered "'I'm coping' doesn't reassure me." He pulled me up to stand and slowly put his arms around my back. I did the same to him and it felt good to be hugged by him. I pushed away the voice in my mind saying 'TALK TO HIM' and sighed.

"What am I going to do?" I asked, pushing my head against his shoulder. He was a little taller than me and to kiss him I would've had to go on the tip of my toes. "Everyone has their suspicions. There is photographic proof that it is me. My face is on all the cameras. It's my face. What do I do about that?"

He didn't answer and I furrowed my eyebrows before pulling back. "Steve?" I asked, feeling his body pull back for a moment. "What is it?" I said and a look of realisation was struck on his face.

"Your face..." he said, mystified by the word somehow.

"Yes, what about it?" I asked, trying to understand what he was hinting at.

"The killer has your face."

"Well that's why I'm freaking out, Rogers!" I said, patronisingly, almost shouting because it was kinda obvious.

"No, I mean the killer has the face that you have." he said and I finally got round to what he was getting at. "Like a copy." he said.

"Photostatic veil." I said, getting what he was talking about. "Like when Natasha disguised herself as Hawley when we took over the Triskelion. A mask with my face on it to be me."

"So if we can identify the killers DNA or a sign from the security footage."

"Then we will be able to identify whoever decided to be me."

"Exactly." he said and I grinned at him boldly. "God, you're a genius." I said, ecstatically and threw my arms around his neck. I didn't realise what I had done until I felt his breath down my neck.

"You are too kind." he said, chuckling quietly.

"Honestly. Never thought that you would actually save me."

"What do you mean?" he asked, only having to whisper as we were so close.

"Well you save everyone, I know that, but me in particular. It's nice to know you care." I said, smirking.

He chuckled and whispered "You're the one I care about most." That made my breath catch and he stroked my back soothingly. Suddenly, someone came through the tarpaulin and we spun round. I pulled my arms away from Steve, but I got caught for a second before my arms were by my side.

 **Hope you had a good time reading this! PLEASE REVIEW, because I spent ages on this one :) Thank you!**


	18. Down By The Riverside

**Please remember to review! It makes my day :)**

 **Previously:**

 **He chuckled and whispered "You're the one I care about most." That made my breath catch and he stroked my back soothingly. Suddenly, someone came through the tarpaulin and we spun round. I pulled my arms away from Steve, but I got caught for a second before my arms were by my side.**

"Nice to know I make a room uncomfortable." Clint smiled and walked over to us stepping round the bodies. "Well even more uncomfortable whilst surrounded by dead people." he said, looking round at the area. He clapped his hands together. "Sorry to interrupt the pre-snogging build up, but we need another perimeter spike. This one's broken." he said, holding it up.

"We have an idea by the way." I said, grabbing another spike from the bag that we bought, ignoring Clint's language. "Roger's came up with it. The person pretending to be me is using a photostatic veil to impersonate me."

He groaned. "Using the pictures from files when Nat leaked S.H.I.E.L.D's secrets online. Of course. How could we be so stupid?"

"We didn't even think about consider it. We need a DNA sample or something from the security footage that tells us about her." I said, handing him the spike. "We need to speak with Stark."

"Okay, I'll come back with Scott once we're done." he said and left us alone again. I looked at an embarrassed Steve, who hadn't said anything since Clint came in.

"What?" I asked, intentionally putting a dull tone into my voice to sound bored of the silence.

"It's just..." he said and stared at the floor. He looked up and asked "How long are we going to keep this up?" I had to be serious with him. I had a feeling that...this wasn't going to work out...not now.

I pressed my lips together before biting my lip and staring at him straight in the eyes. "I don't know." I said, ashamed of myself for saying it. "I want to be with you believe me." I added, placing a hand on his cheek, quickly checking for anyone around the area as I did. He looked at me, his eyes calm and seemed to be understanding.

"You just can't right now." he said, nodding and closing his eyes. He opened them and I stepped forward.

"I'm sorry. I know you of all people shouldn't wait for me, especially seeing as you are the person who lost so many." I said, feeling guilty of putting him in this position, but it had to be done...for his benefit. "I don't want to hurt you." I said, speaking the truth and he knew it. "I care for you. A lot. And I don't know what I would do if you ended up on the bad side of things."

"I know." he said and I reached my hand out to hold his.

"I'm sorry." I said, seeing a faint glimmer of tears over his eyes.

He blinked slightly, easily covering it up, but I still noticed. I decided not to tell him that I did. He smiled and said "I get it. I can wait."

"Thank you." I said and kissed his cheek, as a form of goodbye for the moment. I had gotten this close to him and I was pushing him away. Everything I wanted gone, because of HYDRA. Steve seemed to ground me somehow and it killed me to push him away. We had just gotten together...like literally a few hours ago. As soon as I heard the news about Black Death, I knew that my relationship with Rogers was going to change. I just didn't want to think about it.

"No more CCTV cameras that we haven't recovered and we scanned the area, but there was no other evidence. Not exactly the greatest help." Clint grumbled, as he walked through the tarpaulin doors, Scott behind him. I looked around, realising that Steve had already set up the spikes in each corner of the area.

"So we head back now?" Clint asked and I nodded.

"We should be able to leave the spikes here. I'll check before we head back." I did as I promised and checked with the police officer that we talked with earlier.

"Thank you." I said to him, smiling.

"That's alright, Miss Hill. I hope you have a safe journey back." he said and I nodded before going to the helicopter with the others. I sat down next to Steve and strapped myself in, trying to ignore the awkwardness filling up in the air.

"I'm sorry." I said to him, half wanting to break the awkwardness, half trying to be the better person and talk with him about it.

"It's fine." he said, clipping up his belt. "Am I just forgetting it?"

I looked up at him. "I'm not going to." I said and he looked back at me. "I don't want to. I want to remember everything so I can get this mission over with quicker. Once this mission is done, I want everything to be normal again."

He nodded and smiled. "Good. I won't forget it either." he whispered and my heart fluttered in my chest. _How am I going to try and resist this for the next few days...well I hope it's a few days._

The journey back surprisingly wasn't that awkward. We just talked for a while about meaningless chit chat, mainly about recruits. I tried to ignore that I had just put us on a break. When we landed, Steve told us to go and get changed and then meet everyone in the living room. I undressed, placing my weapons on their hooks, and got into some grey shorts and a black tank top and hoodie. I arrived in the living room to see everyone already there, so I quickly walked over to sit down with them at the coffee table.

"We have an idea." Steve announced at the head of the table.

"Brilliant." Wanda said, breathing a sigh of relief like the others.

"The-" Steve stopped himself from continuing as Fury came through the door. Cap nodded to him as he made his way over to the table.

"I'm not sure about whether I can trust you or not Maria." Fury announced and I was shocked. How dare he? After all these years how fucking dare he? "The security footage says it's you and you haven't been the same recently. I think you did it." The others looked at him shocked as did I until I unfroze and began to shout at him.

"I have done nothing but been loyal to you and this team. I have put my heart and soul into making S.H.I.E.L.D and the Avengers the best they can be and took down HYDRA agents in the process. I have stood with you against our enemies and disagreed with you when you made stupid decisions. I may not be a saint, but I am certainly not the devil, so don't you dare think that I am HYDRA for one second." I snapped. I stood there, heart racing, and after a moment, the realisation came to me. I just shouted at Fury. The ex-Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Oh my God. What the hell did I just do? "Sir." I added, trying to soften the blow, not that it would help.

He smiled and I was confused for a moment before he said "That's my girl." Fury obviously didn't mean that in a romantic way, but I saw Rogers eyes tighten for a moment before relaxing. Fury occasionally treated me like family, but only occasionally.

I smiled back at him and he looked towards the others. "I may not know all that many people, but Hill…" He said and side glanced at me. "Is one of the most trustworthy people I do know. So none of you should have any doubts about her." He turned to the Captain. "What are your opinions on all of this?" he said, waving his hand about.

Steve straightened up slightly before replying "I believe she is innocent." He answered, softly. I could tell he meant it so meaningfully as he said the words, looking into my eyes as he did. There was a sadness in them and I believed it was because we weren't really together.

I could've sworn I hear Tony whisper "surprise there." in a sarcastic tone. I ignored him. As usual. Along with everyone else. As usual.

"Of course you would think that. Why do I ask?" He said, sounding hopeless. I flashed a brief, though awkward, smile at Steve, then turned back to Nick.

"Is there any evidence?" I asked.

"Don't we have trackers in our stomachs?" Natasha asked. I saw Tony's eyes suddenly widen.

"WHAT?!" He shouted and started feeling over his top for bumps. "We have trackers?"

"Not you, idiot." Clint said and hit him over the head with the drumstick he was holding. God knows why he was holding a drumstick? Has he formed a band or something? I remember him having them when we were all trying to lift Thor's hammer.

"When we first came to S.H.I.E.L.D we were given trackers. Untraceable." I informed him and he nodded, his expression relaxing from the panicked one he had a moment ago.

"We just need to check if it's been removed right? As Rogers is the only one that was watching her sleep." Tony said and we both blushed immediately with the aim of making it fade as quickly as possible. "And that's not enough confirmation. I suggest showing us that it's not been tampered with."

My head shot up at his words. "All of you?"

"Well yeah…"

"I'm not comfortable doing that." I said, standing up. God….I can't get out of this...dammit.

"Well you'll have to show it to one of us and it can't be Steve or Fury. Steve is your alibi, so he could lie and Fury could lie to if he was in league with you." Tony said and I took a deep breath before nodding at Tony. Fine. I chose to show him.

"Okay let's go." I said, looking at him, and he followed me out of the door into one of the large bathrooms near by.

Once the door shut the questions from Tony started. "What was that about? Why can't they all see? Is this a love bite from Rogers that you want hidden?" he said, the last question asked with a smirk upon his face.

"Please don't talk to me about it when I show you. Do you understand?" I asked, getting the point across that this was not something to laugh about. I tried to make my tone cold and with no emotion, but I even could hear the nervousness in my voice.

He nodded with a curious expression before I lifted the bottom of my top up slightly and the expression fell. I shut my eyes for a moment, blocking out the memory of the pain I had felt, before opening them to see his reaction. He sat on the chair that was next to the sink as I stood there and he stared at my scar. The word 'HYDRA' was written across my stomach, evidentally marked on with a knife. I knew that one day it would fade, but it wasn't completely gone yet. Tony's eyes shot up to me, digging into my soul, and I knew he wanted an explanation.

"It was after me, Steve, Nat, Fury and Sam stopped the helicarriers. I was captured and tortured by HYDRA before Coulson's team came to rescue me." I said, no emotion this time. It didn't matter to me that I had them. I just didn't want anybody seeing them. It shows a weakness in me I guess.

"I'm sorry." he said, looking back to the scar.

"Don't be. We all lost things from the takeover." I said and showed him where the seal from the tracker was. It was a very faint line 10cm below the HYDRA carving. "No tamperment. Got all the evidence you need?" I put my top back down again, covering the marks of shame printed on my skin.

He just nodded and was about to speak again, but I stopped him. I could tell that he wanted to talk more about it, but I didn't want to even think about what happened. I had blocked the memory out of my brain until they brought up the tracker. "Let's just go."

I quickly left the room, Tony following after me. "It hasn't been tampered with. It's not her." he announced as we went back to the living room table again.

"We believe that the killer is impersonating Maria using a mask called -."

"That does makes sense." Fury said. "We had an ambush a couple of weeks ago on one of the vans. Most of the stuff was located, but some of it wasn't. The team working on it lost their leads. I'll get someone to speak with them." he added before leaving the room.

"So what do we do now?" Falcon asked, in his uniform from a mission he must've been on. I only now noticed that Natasha and him were in their battle suits. "Just sit here and do nothing?"

"No, we've got some security footage to work with. We can analyse it to see if the person has any characteristics that Maria doesn't."

"Sounds like the most sensible plan." Thor said and we all looked to the centre of the table where Tony had projected the footage onto. We gathered round the table and I bumped into Rogers as I stood.

"Sorry." I said, slightly flustered.

"It's..it's fine." he said, releasing a breath that he had been holding. He cleared his throat and I secretly took a deep breath before looking at the screen with them all. I needed to forget about Steve for the moment. Seeing him all the time wasn't helping.

"Anyone see anything?" James asked.

"Not yet." Rhodey replied. The footage was just playing through at half speed as I...Black Death had killed six agents and was starting on the seventh.

"Wait! Stop!" Clint shouted and I winced slightly as I was, unfortunately, the one standing next to him. "Roll the footage back a few frames." JARVIS did so and we all watched the screen intently. "Stop. Now forward one." he said and the footage stopped.

"I see it." Vision said and a circle was drawn on the screen of the killers neck. How come the circle appeared?

"How did you do that?" Tony asked, looking uncertain about the fact that he didn't know something about his own intelligence system.

"I have a connection with JARVIS. I can contact him without needing to give orders."

"Hmm...interesting." Tony said, smiling at this new feature of his 'child'.

"Maria's neck has no markings on it." Steve said. I prefer it when he calls me Maria.

"Dr. Banner, any ideas on what that mark is?" Thor asked, curiously.

"If my hypothesis is correct…" he said, typing on an iPad. "this person has a condition called Dysplastic Nevi. They are moles that are much larger than usual ones. Can cause cancer and illness like that. I wouldn't believe this to be the case though with someone fighting like that." He flicked some information up on the screen. A scan was done on the mole on the killer's neck and the one on the document Bruce had brought up. A green box saying 'POSITIVE MATCH' flashed on the screen. "The condition occurs in one in ten thousand, so this person should be quite easy to trace."

"Also," Tony said, putting a blueberry into his mouth. Where did he pick those up from? He always has a packet of blueberries. "They only treat the illness in one hospital." he added, reading the information on the screen. "Private service is needed to treat it. It is recorded in a hospital in Washington after a president was first diagnosed with the illness."

"JARVIS, how long do we have left?" Steve asked, sounding anxious about the time we had left before I was going to be arrested.

"You have appropximately 18 hours remaining, Mr. Rogers." he replied and Steve's face turned determined. 18 hours. I had 18 hours to prove that I wasn't guilty. This was going to be difficult.

"Okay, we deal with this immediately. Hill," he said and turned to me. "You stay here with me." He turned his head to face the others, but his eyes sayed on mine for a moment before following the pull of his head. I was a little surprised that I wasn't going on the mission. Surely no one would notice me if the pictures weren't released yet? "Tony and Wanda, you will be going in as a distraction at the main desk of the hospital. Nat, Clint, Sam, Scott and James. You will be going in undercover as doctors. If you are compromised, then use a stun gun, not real bullets. Vision, I want you on top of the building just in case something goes wrong. Bruce on comms. Thor, go to Asgard. Speak with Heimdall and see if there is any way that he can locate this person. We will send you information if you need it. Meeting ended."

The other Avengers dispersed, leaving me and Steve standing in the living room alone. I looked at him in the eyes and for some reason he didn't want to look at me. "Why aren't you sending me on the mission?" He looked up to meet my gaze. "No one would notice me and you know that, so why aren't you letting me go on it?"

He sighed, looked at the floor and said "I can't have you out there when someone is pretending to be you. HYDRA are using your face because you were Black Death. Word may have gotten out and...I don't want you in danger." He shut his eyes and I walked over, placing a hand on his shoulder. His eyes flickered to mine and I smiled softly.

"You don't have to worry about me. I've been through worse." I said and took the hand away before I felt that I had left it there too long.

"I still want you here with me." he replied.

"Why?" I asked, wondering why he was so determined to make me stay.

"I want to be here to protect you..." he said and I could tell he felt embarrassed about the whole idea of being here to protect me. "I know you can protect yourself, but...I want to make sure you are safe."

I nodded and sat down on the sofa. "I guess that I would want the same for you if it was the other way around."

He sat down next to me and we turned to face each other. "After everything that happened between us...this morning...and everything building up to that moment over the past few weeks…" he said and shook his head. It pained me to stop myself from doing the little things that mattered, like the touch of a hand and a reassuring smile. I had to put a barrier between us before this was over. I didn't want to get him into any trouble. "I couldn't just act like nothing had ever happened."

"I know." I said and gritted my teeth to keep down my emotions. "Like I said earlier, I'm not forgetting. I just can't get you into trouble."

"I don't care." Steve said, cupping my cheek and locking my eyes with his. I couldn't break the lock between us. There was something about his blue eyes that made me calm and relax away from everything else that was going on.

"If it was the other way around...would you want me risking everything to get you out of trouble?" I asked. He knew I was right. We couldn't do that to each other. "Please stop making this harder than it already is." I said, a tear falling from my eye and onto his hand. "Because it's so difficult to do this. To distance myself from you…" I said and closed my eyes, relishing in the feeling of his soft, warm hand against my cheek. Steve was more than just my partner. He was more than just a friend now too. The only thing I wanted to do was to be close to him, to feel his arms around me as he pulled me into a hug, but I didn't want to put him in that position. If someone saw that me and Steve were getting to close and they thought that I was Black Death, then they may come to the conclusion that we were working together.

I pulled away from him and stood up. "I need this to stop until the mission is over." I said, repeating what I was talking about earlier. I looked at him and he stood up too.

"I understand. I'm sorry." he said and I nodded.

"I get it. Believe me, I get how annoying it is." I said, laughing slightly and brushing away the tears that had fallen. He chuckled slightly too and I smiled. I always liked his laugh. It was sweet and made my insides squirm with how cute it was.

"I promise that as soon as this is all over, I am taking you on a date." he said, smiling and I stopped myself from doing the over-excited smile that makes you look like you have had plastic surgery.

"Sounds like a plan, Captain Rogers." I said, laughing, and left to go to the simulation room. I walked in, smiling to myself that no one else was in there, and began walking over to the glass block.

"Hello, Miss Hill. Would you like me to put on the riverside setting as usual or are you here for a training session?"

"Riverside please." I said and entered the room as the place started to transform. Trees rose from the ground and a large river formed through the centre of some of the trees. I smiled and sat down on a rock that was next to it. I lay back and rested my head against the river bank, taking in the sound of the water running and the tranquility. I never had any time to myself, not really. As a deputy, there were no breaks. I can cope on hardly any sleep and working constantly, but after the drama that has happened this morning, I wanted a few moments to de-stress.

I breathed in and out, closing my eyes to relax myself without feeling the need to fall asleep. With all the chaos that had been going on, I felt like I needed a break. At least, I think that's what other people do. The setting worked for me, because I had never been to the place in real life. The simulations were taken from real locations in the world, most of which I had been to, but this one I had never visited. It made me feel better to know that this was the one place that I hadn't ruined. For the other settings, I had memories of what had happened there, but this was different and made me feel calmer.

"Miss Hill, I do not mean to interrupt, but Mr. Rogers has just entered the room." JARVIS said from over the speakers.

"Would he like to use the simulation?" I asked, leaning up from the bank.

I waited a few moments for him to respond. "He said that he would like to join you. He asks for your permission." I guess I wouldn't mind some company.

"Send him in JARVIS." I replied and leant back down against the rock. I heard the twigs crunch underneath his feet as he walked over.

"So you really do come here to think…" he said and sat down on a rock opposite the one I was on.

"I needed a moment to breathe and forget about everything that was going on." I saw him nodding at me, his eyes focused on my face.

"So do you always choose this setting?" he asked, flicking his eyes around to look at the trees. He smiled softly and I imagined that he did so because it relaxed him, like it did for me.

"It is one of the places that I haven't visited in real life." I said and he nodded, now looking back at me again. We stayed like that for a moment, just looking at each other. We were analysing each other in a way that wasn't awkward, but peaceful. "Have you ever been here?"

"I don't even know what country we are in." he said, chuckling slightly.

"It's Africa, but I get JARVIS to turn the humidity down otherwise it would feel like a sauna." He smiled at me and I was sure that he didn't know what the word 'sauna' actually meant. Steve was polite like that.

"So…" he said, leaning back against his side of the bank. "is it just this for the whole two hundred metres or does it change?"

I paused for a moment, my lips parting, and crossed my eyebrows. "Do you know what...I haven't even checked."

He stood and held out his head. "Would you like to?"

I smiled and took his hand, nodding. "Sure." I looked around, remembering that if the water went on us it would not dry us off straight away. I only remember that because I could never forget slipping on a rock and falling in when I was trying to leave. I remember it hurting too...a lot.

Me holding Steve's hand didn't seem like a big deal anymore. I knew that we were just friends for the moment, but it seemed to be casual in a friend way as we walked through the trees, exploring the area.

"So I hear that Tony has nearly finished your suit…" Steve said, letting go of my head as a tree came into our path.

"It will be useless if I'm not even here to wear it." I said, looking down at the ground to watch my step.

"You are not going anywhere." he said, his voice filled with hope. He shot me smile that I reflected back at him.

"But really, what am I going to do if I get sent to prison?"

"Well, we will just have to plan a really good escape mission for you. I will keep digging for evidence until I can get you out." he said. His head snapped up and he began to go red. The riverside setting included sunlight, so his expression was clearly visible. "You know what I mean."

"Yes, I know exactly what you mean Steve." I said and we smiled at each other.

We kept walking slowly for a few minutes until we reached a large area of water that looked quite deep. "JARVIS, how high are we?" Steve asked. We had climbed up a small hill at one point, so we must've been at least 5 metres up.

"10 metres." he replied. "To answer the question you really wanted to ask, yes, you can swim in it." I smiled at JARVIS' attitude. He had Tony's humour for sure. Me and Steve looked at each other and he held out his hand.

"Shall we?" he asked. I took off my jacket, comfortable now that he knew about my scars, and I took my hand in his, smiling. I nodded and we ran up to the river.

Jumping in the water made me feel so free and it wasn't that cold. As soon as my head went under, I felt my brain begin to freeze and I shook my head under the surface. I kicked my legs and took a large breath when I broke the surface, my body craving oxygen. Steve came up a few seconds after me, because he was much heavier, which meant he jumped further down. He was panting less because of the serum and he didn't feel the cold.

We laughed together as we kicked to keep ourselves afloat in the water. "I've never...actually done this...before." I admitted nervously, my words separated from feeling the cold rush over me. Even though the sun was out, the water was still quite cold.

He raised his eyebrows. "You've never been outdoor swimming?"

I shook my head. "I've been in...swimming pools before. S.H.I.E.L.D had brilliant facilities...but I never had the chance to go swimming in the wild."

"That was probably the last thing that I had done that you hadn't." he said, smiling.

We swam to the side and leant against the edge. The spikey grass tickled my forearm, but it didn't bother me. "What about meeting Howard Stark? Never did that. I have never fought in a world war or…" My mind went to what I hadn't done and I thought about my childhood. "and I didn't have...a normal childhood like you." I said and pushed myself onto the side. He followed suite and sat next to me.

"Sorry." he said.

"I-it's okay." I said, my teeth starting to chatter. I never did like the cold. I didn't have anything like hypothermia, but I could've done with a hot water bottle.

"Here." he said and put his arm around me. His calves were still in the water, but he was sitting on the side, so I put my legs over his thighs. He wrapped his arms around me and I put my head against his neck. His body was so warm, especially his chest. He really was like a radiator. "Better?" he asked and I nodded, already feeling much warmer.

"Yes, thank you." I replied and snuggled closer as he stroked my back with his left and hand my shin with his right. Wait...what are you doing?

I leaned away, suddenly realising what I was doing. "I'm sorry. We shouldn't be doing this." I said and leant over to grab my jacket.

"It's okay." he said and stopped stroking my leg as I put the jacket on. "Believe me, this wasn't my intention of coming in here."

"I know." I said and showed him a small smile. "I just don't want..." I was going to continue by saying that I didn't want him to get into any trouble, but my sentence dragged off as I sat there, my legs remaining over his.

"You don't want to get me in danger." he said, sighing, and looked away from me.

I reached my hand out and turned his face towards me, my thumb slowly brushing his cheek. Surely one little kiss wouldn't hurt? No one's here and we are in our own little world I guess.

"If we kissed right now…" I began and his lips parted at my words. "hypothetically speaking...no one would see us would they…you wouldn't be in danger..." I continued as I convinced myself more and more that this was a good idea.

He shook his head and asked "Is that what you...want to happen? For us to kiss?" He sounded more exasperated than he had in the water. I smiled and used the hand on his cheek to slowly pull him forward.

 **Hope you liked this new chapter! Leaving you on a cliffhanger :P Make sure you review, because I have a lot of plans for this story that I want to explore. Next chapter is the mission and man are things going to get stressful!**


	19. The Mission

**Previously:**

 **"If we kissed right now…" I began and his lips parted at my words. "hypothetically speaking...no one would see us would they…you wouldn't be in danger..." I continued as I convinced myself more and more that this was a good idea.**

 **He shook his head and asked "Is that what you...want to happen? For us to kiss?" He sounded more exasperated than he had in the water. I smiled and used the hand on his cheek to slowly pull him forward.**

Our noses touched, but we waited there for a second before I stole a kiss from him. I pulled back and we both smiled before rejoining our lips. It was quite nice kissing him when we were both covered in water. The wet clothing stuck to his body and made touching him feel better though it didn't know why. My legs were still over his, but it felt comfortable. His left hand was stroking my back, making me smile and relax into the kiss more. His lips were slippery from the water, but it was a nice feeling.

He moved his hand from my shin to my hip, which made my heart beat much faster than it was a second before. My hands glided up to the back of his head and I tugged lightly on the strands of hair there. I liked that Steve didn't have really short hair, because I enjoyed weaving my hands through it.

I could tell that his heavy breathing wasn't just from the kissing, but from the fact that he was...inexperienced meaning he was nervous. That's what I had deducted from Steve. He had grown more confident than the first time that I kissed him in the restaurant. I think back to that moment, when his lips were shaking slightly with nerves. He has definitely improved since then.

We pulled apart for a moment, a need to catch breath getting too strong, and I said "You are really getting good at that." He chuckled nervously and leaned forward to kiss my cheek.

"Well, I have had a good teacher." he said and I laughed. He cupped the side of my face and I leaned into it.

"So, I know that we are keeping what happens between us a secret, but this cannot happen again."

He looked towards the river. "I know." he sighed.

I brought his head to look at me. "So...lets make the most of it." I smiled and he caught the drift, beginning to smile to. I put my leg of him, so I had one on each side of his hips and wrapped them around him. I think it surprised him slightly, but I didn't see him complaining. The kisses were slow and passionate and I held onto the moments as if there was nothing else to live for.

The hand on my back started to make it's way up the back of my top, but I stopped it. I can't have anyone seeing the marks on my stomach. The HYDRA one especially. He pulled back and said "I wasn't going to do anything. I swear." he began and it almost made me smile how nervous he was. "I just wanted to...touch your skin….I like the feeling of it..." he admitted, as if it were a bad thing.

I shook my head and laughed. "It's fine, Steve. I've just got...some scars that...I don't want you to see. Not yet anyway." I added on the last bit, not even thinking about hinting that I did want stuff to happen in the future. It's not that I wasn't ready for 'stuff' to happen...it's just the revealing of the scar I wasn't ready for.

"That's okay." he nodded and put his hand back on the outside of my top. He smooth the top down and stroked my skin before kissing me again. I was happy that he understood and overjoyed that I had found someone as considerate as him. Some people would insist and want an explanation, but Steve dealt with it.

We sat like that, kissing for what must've been half an hour, before JARVIS interrupted us. "Mr. Rogers, Mr. Barton is looking for you." he announced and I pulled backwards.

"Damn it." I said, hitting his chest. "Sorry." I said, going wide-eyed. Punching your secret almost-boyfriend...great start to the relationship Hill.

"It's alright. I didn't even feel it." he said and kissed the top of my head. "Now, I had better go."

"Okay." I said, trying to sound less disappointed than I was about him leaving me, but the upset was clear in my voice.

"Just wait until after we've found whoever is doing this. After that, we can be together." he smiled and got up, reaching his hand out to pull me up.

"Sounds like a plan, Captain." I smirked and zipped up my hoodie. "JARVIS, can you give us a route to the doors please?"

"Certainly, Miss Hill." he said and a blue light showed up on the ground underneath the grass. We made our way along the trail and got back to where I was sitting earlier. Steve held my hand as I jumped across the river and we made our way to the door, hands disconnecting as soon as we left. I turned off the simulation and only just realised that our clothes were damp from the river, but had dried off since half an hour ago.

Suddenly, the door opened and all of the Avengers, in their battle suits came through the door. Every single one of them had the same expression - confusion. "What happened to your clothes, Miss Hill and Mr. Rogers?" Vision asked.

Me and Steve looked at each other before looking at the others. "We were challenging each other on the riverside setting." Steve said, confidentally.

He was quite a good liar actually."Accidentally fell in." I finished, realising that I didn't make the 'accidentally' sound just as convincing as I had hoped.

"And I went in after her." Steve added, his face tinting with red, but he was holding it back better than usual. Maybe he was developing a resistance to it?

"Right…" Tony said, a smile turning on his face. "I believe we have a mission to prepare for. Rogers…?" Steve nodded and followed them out of the door. He glanced back at me and I waved him goodbye before going to my room to search for some dry clothes to change into.

I picked out a pair of shorts and a very large jumper, that went down to my mid-thighs, and put them on quickly. I couldn't be bothered to shower, so I just got changed and went back into the living room. Sitting on one of the sofas, I looked out at the agents training in the fields. It reminded me of how I started. I felt inexperienced when I wasn't trained. We used to sit in the training rooms at 'The Room' and observe the older students sparring with each other, setting an example for us to follow. I felt so pathetic compared to the rest of them. I stayed there for a while, just sitting and thinking about everything that had happened since then - all the S.H.I.E.L.D missions, all the S.H.I.E.L.D briefings, S.H.I.E.L.D being taken down, S.H.I.E.L.D being rebuilt and then...the Avengers. They were the break from S.H.I.E.L.D and I though about how I needed that break.

"Miss Hill, I thought I should inform you that Dr. Banner is about to commence communication with the team for the mission."

"Okay, I will be in a moment." I told him and began to make my way towards the communications room. I walked down the corridor and tried not to think about how nervous I was about the mission and Steve.

I entered the room and walked over to Bruce. "Hill's here now, so lets start this." he said, waving to me with his hand before focusing his attention back on the screen. "Tony, you're up."

 _"Okay, what am I doing here again?_ " he asked. I rolled my eyes.

"You are visiting an ill relative."

 _"Sweet cover story."_

"It's not a cover story. You haven't seen her for weeks." he dead-panned.

 _"Oh yeah. Is this crazy Rachel? She had better have cookies."_

 _"Aren't the guests meant to bring the patient's food?_ " Clint asked over the comms.

 _"Not in my world."_ he replied and I saw them enter the hospital. Cameras were waiting inside, snapping away at the billionaire.

 _"We're here to see Rachel Raymond."_ Wanda said, testing out an American accent and actually succeeding pretty well.

 _"Okay, team B. Go."_ Banner ordered and Clint, Natasha, Scott, Sam and James jumped through the vents, fashionably disguised as doctors.

 _"Y-yes of course._ " the receptionist said nervously. _"This way."_ she said, holding out her hand.

 _"We're muting your comms until you are alone, Tony and Wanda._ " Bruce said and muted the comms after he said so.

Bruce began to go over the mission. "Guys, remember that you are looking for the room named 'Abnormal medical history' on the Wes-"

 _"I need assistance please!_ " a woman shouted over the comms and when we realised it wasn't Natasha we looked at the CCTV. On the other screens, I noticed Clint, Natasha and Sam steal some security cards, Scott tagging along with Sam having not much experience in the field.

 _"Guys, I've got this. I have experience in the medical field. Go on without me."_ James said, making sure to not be spotted by a camera. I remember him telling me about his medical experience at the party before Ultron attacked.

"I will turn off your comms unless you signal."

 _"Got it."_ he said and I saw on the screen him enter one of the medical cubicles.

"Has anyone located it the room yet?" Banner asked.

 _"Yep. Putting Tony in worked. There are less people running around in the corridors."_ Clint replied.

"Good."

 _"Okay, I'm entering it now._ " he said, getting the key card he had swiped earlier out of his pocket.

He entered the room and I asked "What do you see?"

 _"Files."_

"That's descriptive." I dead-panned.

 _"A lot of files."_ he added and I began to hear him shuffle around the room.

 _"Just coming to join you."_ Romanoff said.

"Vision, report?"

 _"Nothing to report yet. No suspicious behaviour from any being as of yet."_ he replied.

 _"Keep searching. We need those files._ " Steve said, speaking up for the first time since the mission started. I had forgotten that he had been given a comm device. He was still on the side of the street, pretending to do nothing as the mission went ahead. I had the feeling that he didn't really want to do the mission and that's why he decided not to go with everyone. Me and him were compromised. I couldn't understand whether that was a good or bad thing.

About five minutes later, when Scott, Sam and Natasha had joined him, Scott spoke up. _"Hey, I think I've got something."_

"Really?"

 _"Yeah, it's a file. Has the label of Dysplastic Nevi patients. That's it isn't it?"_

"Yeah, that's the one."

 _"This may be a problem. There are about 50 folders here."_

"740497 people would be affected, divide it by 66...uh...11219 approximately. Then you would need to divide by the two hundred, which is...yeah about 56 folders, but then there would be the people that weren't tested, so I would say that's about right. Those should be the correct folders." Banner was too intelligent. Was there anything he couldn't do? I wondered about the factor of his growing old, which wouldn't be a concern to anyone usually, but the hulk was invincible. I looked over the helicarrier footage, Banner explaining about putting a gun into his mouth and trying to kill himself, but the 'green guy' stopping him. I felt sorry for Bruce. He would be immortal. Immortality means that you live longer, but all the people he loves would die around him. I wouldn't be able to live like that.

 _"Seriously, how do you do that in your head?_ " Clint asked, pushing my thoughts about Banner aside.

"Take pushy parents who are completely obsessed with science and a curious little hulk and you've found your answer." he replied. I noticed that he had become a little more open to us about everything. He had changed from when he first came here. "Each of you will need to transport around about 12 or 13 folders each. You guys had better get moving. Even Tony can't hold people off forever."

"Okay." Clint responded and I heard them shuffling around.

"There's a vent above this room. We can tie the folders up and put them up there for the minute before we climb into the vents too." Natasha said.

"We need to hurry. Stark's distraction won't last for long." I replied. We looked at the security cameras and I saw Wanda and Stark going into the room, the people slowly filing away. "The number of people is growing in the corridors guys. You need to hurry up." I noticed James leave the room he was performing in and tap twice on his chest as he walked. Seeing the signal, I switched him comms back on.

 _"Save any lives?"_ I asked.

"As a matter of fact-." he said, but Banner soon spoke up, his voice urgent.

"Someone is heading your way." he said, a little louder than usual. _Oh shit._

 _"Are you sure?_ " Sam asked. I could tell just by the tone of his voice that he was nervous. They needed to get in and out without anyone seeing them. No hassle. This was going to end the whole mission and probably get them sent to jail.

"That is the only door that needs a key card on this entire corridor. He's just pulled one out of his pocket." Me and Banner exchanged the same look of worry and tried to think about what to do.

 _"Shit!"_ Clint swore.

"20 steps." I said.

 _"Hurry up!"_ Steve stressed, trying to keep his voice calm, but failing. I knew he cared for me and that's why he was so stressed. I wasn't blind to that fact...I was just clueless why he did care for me so much. I focused on the mission, worried for the teams safety. What if they were caught?

 _"We don't have enough time. We still have half the-"_

"12 steps."

 _"Folders left to put up."_ _Crap. This was going to end badly._

"Facial recognition has come up." I said, looking at the tab that had popped up on the screen. _Damn it_ _._ "He's the hospital's director. He runs an incredibly tight ship and knows most of the staff."

 _"Twenty folders left and then us too. We can't do this. That man will check all of our identities."_ Natasha replied.

"5 steps!" I said, sternly.

 _"We haven't finished!_ " Scott shouted.

"He's at the door."

 _"We're done, but we need to get out."_

I heard the daunting beep of the security card being slid through the machine before the door was opened. _"Hey!"_ someone shouted and the doctor turned around, the door only opened a slight bit. The shout made me squint a little as it went directly into my ear, because I was listening to the mission.

 _"Yes?_ " he asked, fully opening the door, but not facing inside of the room. The security footage showed all four agents standing inside the room slowly moving up to the vents. They were approximately two feet from the door and the director. They would have to do this quietly. I saw Antman shrink, allowing his escape to be as quiet as possible as Clint put his feet on Sam and Natasha's hands that had been put out at climbing hooks.

 _"I need your help. There is a patient bleeding out in the emergency sector."_ Rhodes said, trying to keep his attention off of the people inside. Clint was in the vent. We all knew that their security cards would be checked, because the storage of the files is crucial to the hospital. I stood up in my chair, staring at the screen. My palms were sweaty and my breathing was heavy, knowing that my life depended on this extraction. If they didn't get those files, we would never know who was impersonating me.

 _"Not my department, can't you see I'm busy._ " he said, holding his nose up high like a prick. He was about to turn round, but Rhodes spoke up again.

 _"Do you not care for your patients?"_ he asked, knowing that it would get the man riled up. This was, of course, completely out of James' character, but we all knew that. He was just trying to save us. I saw Sam begin to climb into the vents and I tensed as I realised there might not be enough time. They had to be deadly silent to not get noticed.

 _"How dare you?_ " he said, looking James up and down. _"Stay right there. When I get back, I will be having a word with your supervisor."_ he shouted, pointing his finger at the 'War Machine', before turning around to face the room.

"NO!" I shouted and watched him walk in, the door shutting behind him. _Oh my God. That's it. Mission over._

 _"Stop shouting will you. We are trying to escape."_ someone whispered. Clint's voice made me smile and I relaxed my tensed facial expression.

"You got in the vents in time?" I asked, sitting back down to regain my calm.

 _"Are you kidding? Who do you think we are? Amateurs?"_ he asked and I rolled my eyes before sighing and sitting back against my chair.

"Damn it that was a close call." I replied to them.

 _"I'm making my way to the extraction point."_ Rhodes reported and I saw him stroll through the corridors towards the exit.

" _We're on the move with the files. See you two at the base."_ Natasha said to us.

"Okay." I replied and Sam, James, Natasha, Clint and Scott put their comms on mute, Vision doing his automatically through his mind. The only communication line now left open was Steve's.

I looked at Banner who smiled at me and took off his head set. "I'll give you two a minute." he said, standing up and leaving the room, probably to get coffee as well as give us space.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked, looking over the screen. As James was leaving, I noticed him going into the medical cubicle he went in earlier, probably to check up on whoever he was attending to.

 _"Just glad that you are going to be okay."_ he answered

"I will be fine. I mean we have a lot of names to search through, but hopefully we will find the person in time." I replied. I didn't really know what to say to him, so I just stayed silent until he spoke up.

 _"What are your plans for tonight?"_ he asked me. I wondered whether he asked me just to fill the silence or whether it was to find out whether I was free so that I could be with him.

"Maybe train for a while, perhaps order my favourite meal."

 _"What is it? Don't tell me that white chocolate is classified as a full meal here too."_ he said and I laughed.

"No, no. My favourite is pizza."

 _"Good choice. I might have pizza tonight also."_ I smiled.

"Are you suggesting that you could join me for dinner?"

 _"Well...only if you don't mind."_

"I'd love you to have dinner with me." I responded, pursing my lips to stop a big ugly smile gracing my face.

 _"Great. How about we eat on the roof. I know that you are not allow to leave the building, but on the roof is still within the perimeters of the building. I'll make sure no one sees us." Okay...this sounds like he's planned it._

"Sounds lovely." I replied quietly, thinking about how lovely it really would be to have dinner on the rooftop with him, the stars above us and no hassle with the other Avengers. They were great people, but they really could be children sometime.

 _"Should I drop by at 8 to get you?"_ he asked.

"Sure." I replied, the smile itching up my face.

 _"Brilliant. I have to go, because I'm near the extraction point and I can see the others, but I will talk to you when I get back."_

"Okay." I said, not really registering anything around me but his voice.

I heard him intake a breath as if he were about to say something, but then let it go before speaking again. _"Bye Maria."_ _Why did he hesitate before saying that?_

"Bye." I replied and muted the comms. _Did he just ask me on a date?_ I put my hands over my face and smiled into them, letting out a small laugh. I began to think about tonight. _If he's dropping by, should I be wearing something fancy or casual? Dropping by kinda makes it sound like a date. That means I have to look perfect...great! What if he cares about the little details? I don't think i'll wear a necklace, because they usually get in the way. No rings - they are always too difficult to get on and off of your fingers. Earrings? Um...perhaps, but only small studs. I might wear a tiny blue pair that I got last year. What about the outfit? No doubt it would be cold on the roof, so should I wear something that won't be affected by the cold? It's probably going to be cold so perhaps layers, because I don't really want to be wearing a hoodie. Heels or no heels? I could imagine heels getting in the way and making me trip over my dress or trousers or anything on the way there. Should I ask Steve about it? Yep...lets just ask Steve about it._ The only thing I could decide on was makeup. I never wore makeup, because I just felt fake wearing it, like I was covering up all the bad things about me.

Bruce entered about ten minutes later with two coffees in his hand and a half eaten sandwich that he must've spent all that time preparing. "Here you go." he said, placing the mug before me and sitting down on his chair.

"Thank you Bruce." I replied and sipped the coffee.

"Everything okay with Steve?" he asked, opening up the mission report app to log what had just happened.

"Yeah, he just said that he had arrived at the extraction." I replied, sinking into the chair a little lower and looking at one of the computers. I was very good at keeping my emotions intact and I was proud that my voice didn't waver as I spoke.

"Are you sure that _everything_ is okay?" he asked and I looked up at him.

"What's that meant to mean?" I asked, curious to his interest.

"Well, we've all noticed you being a little...how should I say...friendly with him.." he said and I raised my eyebrows.

"Excuse me?" I said, shocked that Banner would say such a thing.

Realising he had done something wrong, he gasped and hurriedly said "N-no. Not in that way. I'm not saying that you're...you're sleeping with him or anything of that nature. I'm not implying anything. I'm just saying that you two are...close and it must hurt to know that you might be split."

"But I'll be split from all of the Avengers..." I responded, feeling my heart twang in my chest from the thought of being away from Steve.

"This is...different?" he said, phrasing it as a question to confirm that I did like him. I think he knew already though.

"Me and Steve...let's just say we get along well." I said, the side of my lips lifting slightly.

"I'm happy for you." he smiled.

I shook my head. "This happiness ain't going to last too long."

He looked at the floor and sighed. "Maria...you are not going to prison."

"No." I said, firmly, standing my ground. He looked up at my outburst, somewhat surprised by my lack of optimism. "I'm not going to lie about it. I could be going to prison."

"You won't." he assured me, but I didn't believe him.

"No...the authorities need sufficient evidence."

"And we will provide them with that evidence."

"Not in enough time." I sighed and rested my head against the back of the chair.

"Don't give up." he said, putting his hand over mine. This didn't freak me out. Even though Bruce could turn into the hulk, he had a special connection with the others that was almost father-like. I didn't know him very well, but I could tell that he was a caring person. I think he cared, so that people knew he had a good side to him. We all already knew that, but he didn't seem to realise it. "We will make sure you get out of this. Besides..." he said, smiling. "how would we cope without our leader."

I laughed. "I think you are forgetting who leads the Avengers there Banner."

He shook his head. "No...I'm not." he replied and I smiled at him. I felt tears come to my eyes and fluttered my eyes a few times to stop myself from crying.

"Thank you." I said to him and he looked up at me. "I really appreciate it."

He squeezed my hand and replied "That's okay. You deserve the best."

He stood up and left me alone again, knowing that I would come out of the room in my own time. I looked up at the screen and watched the dot where the helicopter was. As it moved, I felt a sense of happiness knowing that the team was closer to home. I smiled at the screen for a moment, but then shook my head, feeling silly that I was getting this emotional about my almost family. My almost family consisted of all these heroes - a billionaire that doesn't half know how to be human, a woman whose powers she is only just learning to control after losing her heart from her brother's death, a robot who's emotional are just coming into play, a God who loves someone from a different world, a man who has trouble keeping to his pale side, the man who shrinks, a woman who works beside me and helps me with my day-to-day life as my assistant, another woman who's shared my childhood in some respects and can't help but be in love with my best friend, the best friend who has a love for archery for some reason, two men who I have fought with that fly around with their suits and wings and lastly a beautiful man from the past that is catching up just perfectly despite everyone's assumptions of him being unfit to cope in the modern times. I admired him for trying to fit in with everyone.

I got up and walked out of the room when I realised that the helicopter was about a minute away. I made my way upstairs and found Bruce already standing there, arms crossed and holding his stance against the force of the helicopter. Vision and Wanda came flying alongside them, both landing gracefully on the ground. As soon as the helicopter landed, Scott expanded to his normal size and the others came out of the doors. Scott seemed to like hanging onto the side of the transport vehicles. Maybe it gave him more freedom. If I had the opportunity to do that, I definitely would. It seems like so much fun.

"Well that went surprisingly well." Tony said, raising his eyebrow as he came out with a handful of folders. The each had a few files for each of them and we all entered the building. I gave a quick glance to Steve who was busy, flicking through the folders. His eyebrows twitched slightly and I stopped myself from smiling at his concentration. He must have been looking at the different names on the files.

"This is going to take a while." Clint said, dumping the files on the conference table. It was one of the biggest tables in the facility, had a light shining up through it and had access to the internet wherever you touched, so we could search easily for the identities of the people.

"JARVIS can't sort through all of these..." Bruce said, looking over the files.

"He can't search all of these people individually. We need to go into the hospital data base and get JARVIS to select certain characteristics. That will take quite a while, but the real problem is that we will need to search through the files. He cannot compare all of the data to make a conclusion as there may be factors or information that we have, which might help." They were just lists of names.

"Why didn't you get the actual information?" I asked, holding up one of the sheets of paper.

"Oh I'm sorry, but did you want us in jail too?" Clint asked sarcastically, slumping down into his chair.

"Of course not, but how are we meant to track them down in time?" I asked. Clint looked at the table and other people looked at each other, transferring nervous looks to each other. "It's not..." I concluded, accepting their silence as confirmation. "We're not going to have time."

"The detailed files must've been stored somewhere else. And we might have enough time. We may not have to go through all of them." Steve said, trying to sound hopeful.

"Forget it..." I said, waving my hand to try to get him not to worry. "I know we may not have enough time, but I don't want you slaving over this."

"Well we're going to." Wanda said, looking at the table before rising her head to look at me directly. "Because we're you're family."

"Yeah." War Machine said, pushing himself off the wall and placing his hands on the back of a chair. "We're here for you. And if that means staying up through the night to ensure your safety then so be it."

"All in agreement?" Steve asked and everyone nodded. "Good." he said and looked at me, his face forming into a smile. "Lets get started." I didn't argue, knowing that I wouldn't be able to fight back against all of them. They were all too stubborn for that.

 **Hope you enjoyed it :) REVIEW IF YOU CAN!**


	20. Rest

**Previously:**

 **"We're here for you. And if that means staying up through the night to ensure your safety then so be it."**

 **"All in agreement?" Steve asked and everyone nodded. "Good." he said and looked at me. "Lets get started." _I didn't argue, knowing that I wouldn't be able to fight back against all of them. They were all too stubborn for that._**

"So why can't JARVIS do this?" Falcon asked, typing a new name onto the screen.

"JARVIS is not a human. He may be intelligent, but he is not like you or..." Vision was about to say 'I', but I everyone could see that he stopped himself. "He is not like you." he said, sticking to the idea that he was different. I saw Wanda's sad expression illuminate from her face and I felt sorry for her that she liked him. "Each patient will have individual pieces of information, some we need, some we don't. We can give him things to eliminate and do it that way."

"Okay, JARVIS we will put the sheets down on the scanner, so you can get the names first. That's going to take years all by itself." Tony said and took one of the sheets.

Each sheets took 5 seconds to process and we had 20 sheets on the table at the same time, but there were so many...too many! After a very boring 2 hours and fifteen minutes of scanning the sheets, they were all finally programmed into the computer.

"THANK GOD!" Tony shouted, pushing up from his chair, stumbling a bit as he hadn't moved for the past twenty minutes. He did go to get a coffee, but apart from that he only scanned the sheets that were given to him by Sam.

"What action would you like me to perform, Sir?"

"Massage on this chair please." he ordered and Stark leaned back. He sighed when the chair started to vibrate.

"I think he was talking about the files." Natasha said, sitting back in her chair. Clint slid across to her, placed his hands on her shoulders and started rubbing them. She smiled slightly and closed her eyes.

"JARVIS, you need to eliminate the males first. Her form is female." Clint said.

Natasha raised an eyebrow and opened one eye. "You noticed she was female?"

"I think everyone could tell she was female Natasha" he said, scoffing. She nodded and shut her eyes again, enjoying the feeling of being pampered. _Man, I wish I could be pampered right now. My back hurts, my brain hurts and I am so tired._

"JARVIS, what's the time?" I asked, putting my hands on the cold desk in front of me. I sighed and tried to keep my eyes open, rolling my shoulders as I glared at the chair Tony was sitting on.

"The time is 22:30, Miss Hill."

"How far is the elimination currently?"

"Three percent, Miss Hill."

"Oh God..." I groaned and laid my arms on the table before putting my head on them. I huffed and shut my eyes, giving my eyes a 'rest'. I hoped that I didn't fall asleep, but I didn't really have any choice if I did. My brain was completely frazzled.

"5 percent." The sound of JARVIS' voice made me shoot up, but when I looked around I noticed everyone else sleeping, all apart from Clint, Natasha, Vision and Steve. The serums, Clint's assassin-ness and Visions robotics must've made them not sleepy.

"Right, everyone needs to go to bed. We can take it from here." Natasha said to everyone, but they weren't really paying any attention. "HEY!" she shouted and everyone woke up, some people gasping and shaking their heads awake. "Go and get some sleep." she ordered and they all nodded, including Wanda who was now being helped out of the room by Vision because she was too tired to stand.

I put my head back down on my arms and shut my eyes again. I blocked out the noises around me and just stayed peaceful for a moment until someone's warm hands rested on my shoulders, slowly massaging them. "Hey." Steve whispered and I sat up, worried that someone would see us. To my surprise, there was no one else in the room with me. It was just us two.

"Hey" I replied. He took his hands off my shoulders, cupped my face and softly kissed me on the lips. I let him as no one would see us. I liked it when it was just me and him trapped in our own little word with no rules or regulations or people in the way.

"You should get some sleep you know." he whispered, planting kisses across my forehead.

I shook my head and he stopped. "I can't have you staying up as I sleep. That's unfair. You need all the help you can get." I argued as he sat down on the chair next to me, taking my hand in his.

He shook his head right back at me. "You need to sleep. You don't have any serum in you. That's the only reason I can stay up."

"I can't let you do all this work for me." I said, sighing and leaned back against the chair. I felt bad. I had myself to blame for this situation and he was taking it all on for me.

He pursed his lips and then let them relax back to normal. He shut his eyes and flinched his eyebrows for a minute, almost like he was debating something. He breathed out and squeezed my hand a bit tighter. "I want to do this for you. You may be leaving tomorrow and I am not going to let you go that easily without a fight. You mean so much to me. I have never met anyone like you and if you think that I won't be trying my best to help save you then you are crazy, because now that I've got you..." he said, flicking his eyes up to look straight at me. "I don't ever want to let you go."

I felt my eyelids flutter slightly from tiredness. I could only stare at him after his sentimental speech that stopped me from breathing. He lifted his hand and cupped my cheek. "We will always care for you and fight for you. I will always care and fight for you. You are one of us." he added and smiled at me, a little adorable laugh escaping from his throat. "You're an Avenger."

I let my lips be gently kissed by his and relaxed into the it. He made me so happy and I felt so lucky to be in his arms, in his embrace, in this kiss, in his life. Steve deserves someone better than me. He really does. But I have come to accept that he likes me for who I am. The only problem with the kiss he gave me was that it almost made me fall asleep with the way it made me feel relaxed. I tried to keep serious when we kissed, but I couldn't help but giggle slightly when we did it.

"100% complete. 14809 remaining on the list. All females" JARVIS interrupted, making us pull apart. I growled and sat back fully in my chair.

"J, can you not interrupt us when we are doing that? Wait until we are finished next time." I groaned.

"But what if you don't stop?" JARVIS replied and me and Steve looked at each other chuckling.

"Okay, interrupt us after five minutes if this happens in the future."

"Of course, Miss Hill." he replied and I smiled at Rogers.

"Got to set some ground rules somewhere right?" I asked and he smiled. I turned to the computer and thought carefully about the next thing to eliminate.

"Height seems like a good option to go with next." Steve said to me, thinking along the same lines as myself. "We need to calculate the height of the impersonator from the footage. JARVIS?"

"Bringing it up now, Sir." I saw a 3D hologram come up through the table of a still of the footage. I saw the copy cat of me along with it's shadow being lit up through the middle of each one by a straight line, white dashes signalling each cm and a larger one for the 10cm mark. The footage fell down into the table and was replaced by the calculated height.

"5 foot, ten inches." Steve said and then turned to me. "Is that how tall you are?"

"I don't really know."

"Stand up." he said and I followed, not trying to look tired as I did. He pulled me close and he was a bit taller than me. "I am 6'2" so I would say..." he said, whispering as he spoke. He nuzzled his face on mine before pulling back slightly to look at me again. "around that heigh. 5'10"."

"I could have told you this information, Mr. Rogers." JARVIS said and we smiled, chuckling at JARVIS' wit.

"I know." he replied and leaned forward. He kissed my forehead longingly and his breath against my hair tickled my forehead. He rested his head against mine and I shut my eyes. "We need to tell JARVIS what to eliminate next..."

"I know." I replied and stepped back from him. "JARVIS, eliminate any people above this height. She may have been brought in at any time, so we just specify people at 5 foot ten."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible for all patients." JARVIS said and I looked confusedly at Rogers.

"And why would that be?" I asked, annoyed that the A.I. wasn't complying with me.

"The height for some of the patients have not been recorded."

"Eliminate the ones that we do have a record for. Keep the one's without the information"

"Yes, Miss Hill." he replied and eliminated people above that height. It took about five minutes and by that time Clint and Natasha had returned, Vision coming in 5 minutes later. It only took so long because the people had been programmed into the database.

"Elimination complete." JARVIS gave us a list of 14698 remaining candidates.

"What else, what else, what else?" I muttered to myself. An idea popped into my head. "Age? How did we not think of that?"

"But what age? Where would we put the marker?" Clint asked me.

"I would say 50 plus. She has to be under that age." I replied and turned to the table. "Eliminate people over the age of 50."

"As you wish, Miss Hill." he replied.

"How long?" I asked and he replied.

"4 minutes and 14 seconds remaining." he replied and I nodded before turning to the others. "Are they all in bed?"

"Just about snoring before we got them on their pillows." Natasha replied, taking a seat with a coffee in her hand.

"Tony was especially hard to deal with, but Pepper was there to help." Clint added.

"As she does with everything." I replied and they laughed. By the time JARVIS had finished, there were 9,395 possible candidates left.

"Okay, is there anything else we can eliminate?" I asked.

"I believe that if we eliminate any other factors, our results may be inconclusive." Vision asked, sounding alert and awake. This wasn't entirely different from the others, but the rest had a tired tone.

"I agree. The age thing was a risk, so we need stop eliminating the issues." Clint added, a yawn leaving him.

"Come on, sleepy head." Natasha said, holding out her hand. "You need to get to bed."

"No, I don't." he said, his eyes blinking slowly. "I'm fine." he added, another yawn coming out of him. We were all really tired apart from Vision, Nat and Steve.

"Nope. Not accepting it." she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him out of the room, ignoring his mumbles of argument. I was so happy that they had finally given up and fallen for each other. Maybe they are in love...maybe they aren't...to be honest, does it really matter? They have peace with one another and I have never seen them so happy, even when they are tired and need more sleep than anything.

"So what's the plan?" Vision asked.

"We need to-"

"We should g-"

Me and Steve spoke at the same time and looked at each other. "By all means..." he said, throwing his arm out. Steve was a natural born leader. 70 years didn't change anything.

"We should gather all the files and look for anomalies or signs of false documents and paperwork." I suggested and the boys nodded, agreeing with my idea.

"Lets get to work." Steve replied and we sat down, looking at the list of names given to us at each seat. Natasha entered the room ten minutes later and sat down next to Steve. They smiled at each other and then returned to their work.

Throughout the night, my eyes drifted between my work and Steve, catching his eyes a couple of times in the process. Every time our gazes locked, we smiled at each other before quickly returning to searching the list. My eyes were getting heavy and I was struggling to stay awake. Every back story I had checked was perfectly fine. We had a 'Suspicious' folder that we were to put files that we thought might be suspects in, but for the moment it was empty. I had only been through 20 people and that was only in one hour. This was going to take forever. I shut my eyes for a moment and had to quickly open them to keep awake. I was too tired to function, but I had to keep working.

I read over some information.

 **Name: Elizabeth Rylan Heartly**

 **Diagnosed: 2002**

I couldn't read anymore. I was so tired of searching through all of the documents. I could hardly keep my eyes open. "Come on." I heard Steve say next to me. I looked at him in surprise. _How did I not notice him come over?_ "You need some sleep."

"No...I..can't..." I said, not putting any structure into my words. Even my speech was affected by my tiredness. _What is even going on?_ I was too tired to function and I knew it, but I didn't want to give up. Even coffee can't fix this...

"Nope." he said and putting his arm around my side. "Not happening." he said, picking me up under my knees and carrying me bridal style out of the room. I didn't complain. He was warm and his soft cushioned chest felt as soft as a bed. "See you in a few, Vision." he called as he shut the door after he exited. I nearly fell asleep until we had gotten to my door.

He lifted my hand and pressed my finger against the scanner. The door opened and he carried me to my bedroom. Laying me down gently on the mattress, I shivered from the cold of it. He pulled up my duvet and I felt slightly warmer, but I preferred his chest. "Goodnight Maria." he whispered and kissed my forehead before pulling away. I was falling asleep when he mumbled something as he left, but I was so close to sleep that I didn't hear him. Finally sleep came over me and the cold became normal temperature.

 **The next morning**

I felt a cold breeze rush over my face, causing me to stir in my sleep. I opened my eyes and noticed the balcony door open slightly. Forcing myself to get up, I pushed off the bed with my hand and flipped the duvet off of me. I shut the door and looked out at the field. There was no one out there. No people training, no morning runs. The skies were dark and gloomy, the clouds covering them like barrier. A forecast of the day it seemed. I felt my heart beat a little faster with fear when I realised that I would be arrested soon. I put on some new clothes and made my way out of the door, towards the conference room. I put my hood up and ignored the buzzing of electronics in the building.

Entering the training room, I noticed everyone's eyes on me. They were all there, even Thor. Seeing him reminded me of the visit he had taken to Asgard. I had forgotten that he had been to see Heimdall to ask about the imposter. I had never met Heimdall before. I always wanted to visit Asgard actually...I found it fascinating that there were other planets out there. I had spoken with Jane in the past about visiting Asgard. We had planned to go there when we all had the time, maybe sometime in the summer.

 **A few months ago**

 _"Do you ever think you are going to marry him?" Natasha asked, sipping her drink._

 _Jane coughed on her drink slightly before regaining her composure. "I...I'm not thinking about...about that just yet."_

 _"I would." Darcy said, wiggling her eyebrows. "He's gorgeous."_

 _Jane hits Darcy lightly and laughed. "Darce, he's my boyfriend remember."_

 _"I know, I know..." she said, holding up her hands. "Can't a girl admire?" Jane rolled her eyes and leant back in her chair. We were sitting in Natasha's living room - me, Natasha, Darcy and Jane - just sitting and relaxing. We never did it very much, but it was nice to catch up with them. I didn't see them very often, so I felt blessed to see them. It was a shame that Pepper was caught up with work at Stark Industries though._

 _"If you do get married and that's an if..." Darcy began. "Does that mean we all get to go to Asgard?" she asked, eyebrows raised, a pleading look on her face._

 _Jane shrugged. "Most likely." She smiled. "The ceremony will need to be held on Asgard. It's their tradition for Gods."_

 _"So you've looked into it?" Natasha asked with a smile._

 _She suddenly found the floor very interesting as she whispered "Maybe..."_

 _"You two would have a great marriage." I smiled._

 _"Well, if we do get married and it has to be on Asgard, you guys will be in Asgardian dress."_

 _"I would totally rock that look." Darcy said, smiling._

 _"I think you all would." Jane smiled back._

 _"Now that is all I can think about."_

 _"Hopefully you guys can all visit earlier than that. With Pepper of course."_

 _"I think it would be wonderful. The boys could all come too."_

 _"That would be nice." Natasha added, a smile hinting on her face. I wanted her and Clint to get together for months and that irritated me._

 _"When we get the time, maybe in a few weeks, we should go."_

 _"If we have the time that is!" I said and we all laughed, knowing how busy each other's schedules were._

 **Back to the present**

It seems now that time has run short...

"Find anything?" I asked him, no hope in my voice at all.

He shook his head as I had expected. "I regret to inform you that I did not find any trace of your imposter. I apologise."

"Don't worry, Thor." I told him and looked towards Steve who actually looked tired. He must have been working all night. "Did you finish the search?"

He looked down at the floor, unable to answer me and looked towards Nat for some help. She also looked tired, more tired than Steve. I believe it was because her serum was a replica. The serum that he was given was much more advanced than hers. She spoke up, taking Rogers' place. "We are still looking through them. We have found 20 files that are odd, but we still have 7955 files to go through." she informed me, regret filling her voice. I never thought Natasha could feel regret. Maybe she was upset about not getting them looked at in enough time?

"We've been through 1440." Vision added. He was sitting next to Wanda who looked much more energised than yesterday.

"We won't have enough time." I stated, coming to the realisation that there was no time left for me.

"We could-"

"No..." I said, stopping Sam from developing his hopeless explanation. "There is no point to this."

"We can keep searching through it until we are done." James argued and I sat down on the free chair next to Steve.

"There won't be enough time. And we can't bring anyone else in on it can we." I knew that no one else could know. Anymore help would bring more attention and no one would help in the first place. I looked around the table at my friends, noticing that Jess was now here too. I smiled on the inside at their compassion.

"We are going to keep searching until the doppelgänger is found." Scott said, moving to type on his keyboard. Everyone set off to work, but it wasn't long before there was a warning from JARVIS.

"Nick Fury and 20 armed guards are heading to this floor as we speak."

"What? It can't have been 24 hours already?" Tony said, getting up out of his seat. It was too late.

"It must be." I said, letting the worry seep through now as it didn't matter. I looked to Steve who reflected my nervous expression. I stopped myself from going over there to be cradled in his arms like a child needing help. Instead I walked out of the room following Tony who was already racing down the corridor to confront the intruders. As soon as we gathered in the living room, the elevator opened, allowing the guards to exit.

"I tried to stop them Hill." Fury said before exiting the elevator, some of the guards hurrying out and kneeling on the floor, guns pointing towards us, mainly at me. "But they said they were going to take you by force."

"So you came to ease the trip? Not happening. She's staying with us." Steve growled at the agents, stepping in front of me. He raisied his arm slightly to cover me for some reason. I looked at him cautiously, but he didn't see my gaze. He was trying to protect me. All I wanted was to stay with him. I had the thought of running away with him at some point in my dreams last night. Running away from the guards and the avenging and the gossip and the stress and the work and just being and loving and living with him.

"Steve..." I warned. He looked at me, desperation filling his eyes, but he didn't move out of the way like I wanted him to. I raised my eyebrows, but he didn't budge.

"Maria Hill, you are under arrest for the murder of 29 S.H.I.E.L.D agents. I would say anything you say could be sued against you in court..." H began, a smile gliding up his face. "but you are not facing a court." His sickening happy tone implied that these weren't Fury's men. Nick was looking down at the floor, almost as if he were ashamed of his actions.

"Why will she not be trialled?" James asked, defensively. It was a good question, but I already knew the answer to it. Me and James had worked together before. We weren't best friends, but we had done a few missions together and he was a really sweet guy who genuinely cared about me and the other Avengers.

"They believe that there is no need for a trial." Fury spat. Now I could see his hatred towards them taking me away. He didn't want them to arrest me. He was on our side. "They didn't want this getting out to the public and because of the video evidence, there are no other suspects." he explained. They are going to kill me. Whether it's today or tomorrow or next week, they are going to kill me. I was frightened. I couldn't deny it. I was scared. I was that little girl in the White Room once again...so helpless and hopeless. I had no time. The people wouldn't be searched in enough time.

"But it's the law." Clint argued, rage building in his voice. He was irritated. I didn't like him like this. He got irritated when I was in danger and I felt bad that he was facing up against these agents for me.

"Don't forget that we are above you, Agent." one of the snarled at Clint. Barton held a strong firm gaze at him that screamed 'STAY AWAY', but the agent wasn't taking any notice. The archer didn't take back-chat lightly. I was worried that Clint would launch himself forward at the agent, but Natasha slipped her hand into his and he looked back at her. They communicated through their eyes how they always did. He nodded and stepped back next to her, his chest slowly rising up and down compared to the fast pace it had been at earlier.

"But we have discovered that the killer was using a photostatic veil meaning-"

"Hey, Lady!" the man said to Wanda. His rude tone was irritating me. Wanda's eyes flashed red for a moment before fading back to normal. "Unless someone is standing in front of us admitting that they were the person who killing those 29 agents, then I will not arrest Miss Hill. I severely doubt that however, seeing as she is clearly guilty." he said, point at me. They came forward and Steve pushed me back with his hand, my feet having to move back quickly to avoid tripping.

"Get away from her!" he growled at them, but the agents continued with their strides.

"Don't Steve!" I said. He turned, looking surprised at my admittance. "Let them arrest me." I had given up. I didn't want to see Steve hurt. It had all become so rushed in this moment. I stepped forward, out of Steve's barrier, and two agents grabbed my arms to arrest me. The violently pulled me forward and I yelped in pain as the handcuffs were attached to my wrists.

"MARIA!" Steve shouted, pushing against the three guards that were trying to hold him back.

"Don't hurt him." I pleaded. I didn't want to see him hurt. That was all I wanted. I struggled against the two agents holding me back. I just wanted to get to him, so he could take me away like he had done before when Wanda hurt me. He looked after me. I just wanted him to carry me away. I would give anything to kiss him one last time. I was going to prison...to my death...but that didn't mean that they could take away my last moment with Steve. "Don't touch him!" I shouted angrily as I continued my struggle. They were hurting him. The guards were strong, but I could kill them easily. However, I didn't want to hurt them. They were just doing their job after all. I tugged against them with all my might, causing one of them to slip. I got out of the others grip and ran. I just ran. As fast as I could...towards my love...

Steve broke free and I felt a relief pour through my chest as he ran towards me. He pushed my face towards his and kissed me, firmly and tightly, making every second count. This kiss had been different to the others I had experienced as if the whole thing was in slow motion. The other worries in the world were irrelevant to us. We were together and that was all that mattered. I cared too much for him and he cared too much for me...that problem was the best thing in the world. His lips were strong and showed all he wanted to say to me without needing to. He cared for me...a lot...and I could feel his compassion through the kiss. I closed my eyes, holding onto the moment as I knew it would be over soon. Steve was my grounding point, my anchor. I didn't know what I would do without him and I tried to reflect that through our embrace also. Just his face being this close was a pleasure to withhold and I felt privileged to be with someone with such an interesting character. Steve truly fascinated me in more ways than one. I could write a whole list about how valuable Steve was to me. It pained me too much that soon...we would not longer be allowed to be together. I cherished the kiss, knowing that it may be our final. I may not love him yet, but I sure as hell care for him more than anything. More than my job, more than any of my friends and more than my life.

The life-filling kiss only lasted two seconds longer before some guards pulled us apart. I saw the pain in his eyes as I was dragged backwards, still feeling as if the scenario was in slow motion, against my will towards the elevator doors. I let my limbs hang free, knowing that I couldn't do anything about being taken down. They pulled me up to a standing position and I hung there, allowing their arms to support me.

As the doors closed, I saw Steve struggle against the 7 guards that were now trying to hold back. I saw Thor hold Steve back, making him see sense, and after a moment, Steve stopped struggling and stood, exasperated from the ordeal. "Maria..." I heard him whisper as the doors closed, but I could still see his pained expression behind my eyes as I closed them, trying to remember a time when he was happy. I picked yesterday when we were in the simulation room, his eyes locking with mine. That made me feel happy.

I was dragged out through the reception area, like a doll, my feet finding it hard to keep up with the pace of the guards. People stared at me, whispered to each other and gasped. I didn't care anymore. I just needed Steve with me to make sure I was okay. I glanced up at Fury who was walking just ahead of me. He briefly looked down at me for a minute, his apology in his eyes. I knew he wasn't allowed to say anything to me, because he might be sent down with me.

I was pushed into a black car waiting at the entrance. I noticed Vision and Wanda flying on top of the rooftop, their eyes staring down at me. I nodded at them and shuffled in the seat I was placed in. I observed the fact that I had a guard on either side and decided not to look at them, but to focus on the road ahead, which wasn't very clear due to the tinted windows that were placed in the front.

I leant back in the seat I had been confined in and looked ahead at the path set out for me. **_We will get you back..._** I heard a voice in my mind say.

 ** _Good to see the training has been put to good use._** I replied. I looked out the window and saw the outline of her flying in the sky, her red coat flapping against the wind.

 ** _I just wanted to make sure that you are okay. Obviously you're not that's a stupid thing to say, but I wanted to check up on you._**

 ** _...I'm scared..._** I told her truthfully. This had never happened to me before. I missed Steve already and I wanted to be safe with him. That's all I ever needed. I just didn't know it. And I was scared. Being a field agent means that you are put into danger every day, but this...I was so frightened of leaving Steve. I had just made this brilliant connection with him and I didn't want him to get hurt.

 ** _Don't be worried about Steve. We will look after him._** she reassured me.

 ** _I know you will._**

 ** _I knew you two were together.._.** she said. I could almost see her smile form as she pushed her words into my mind. **_Just stay calm...we will get you out of there. We will come and visit and-_**

 ** _No._** I stated, firmly. I knew it would stop her in her tracks, but I didn't want them coming to visit. She knew why.

 ** _We are not just going to sit here and let you die. We care about you too much._** I knew she wasn't going to give up, but I wanted her to so badly.

 _ **He is not visiting me.**_

 _ **I know why not and it's stupid.**_

 _ **It's not. I'm fucking dying Wanda.**_ I shouted through my mind, my breath going raggedy in real life and a guard looked at me weirdly before looking back out of the window again. _**I'm dying. I want to make it as painless as possible for him. Distancing myself from him is the easiest way.**_ Seeing him again may make it harder for him after I'm gone...

 _ **I'm sure he cares in the same way I care for Vision. He could be taken away from me any minute by governments wanted to get rid of artificial intelligence, especially after Ultron. Think about that!**_ I had thought about that, but I didn't want to worry her with that problem. _**I live for every day I spend with him. Do that with Steve.**_

 _ **He can't hear us can he?**_ I asked, wanting a subject change.

 _ **He doesn't have to. He knows that I worry about him. We have a connection remember.**_ she reminded me. _**The same connection that you and Steve have. Not exactly the same obviously as you can't read each other's mind, but you know what I mean.**_ _ **I will speak to you outside the prison everyday. I will transmit messages as clearly as I can, okay?**_

 _ **Okay.**_ I replied. It was nice to know that she cared. There was silence for a while, but I could still see her floating with Vision.

 _ **I miss you.**_ I tried not to break down in the car as I listened to her words. I had grown with her, our relationship hitting it's limit at some points, but I had still made my own connection with her over the past few weeks. All the Avengers had a place in my heart, the biggest spot reserved for Steve of course, but they all meant so much to me. When I'm with them, I never want them to leave. I wish that time could just stop and we could talk for years and years and years, spending time together in that Avengers Tower. I never wanted to leave that place. So it hurt. It hurt when the car drove passed the gates that read 'Keep protecting the Earth outside these walls. Come back to us soon.' I think that last bit was a nod to Pietro. But I wouldn't come back to them soon. I couldn't protect the Earth outside of these walls, because my freedom wouldn't be there. I was a nobody now. Protecting the Earth was all I was good for. I'll die be framed for a crime I didn't commit. I won't even die the hero that Steve saw me as. I don't have that satisfaction.

 **I miss you too.** I replied, pursing my lips a bit tighter to stop the tears building. I shut my eyes and listened to my surroundings. I knew that Wanda and Vision would fly along with me until I was at the prison and make sure that I was okay before flying back to the base. I was at peace for a while.

 **Spent the night writing this instead of doing drama coursework, so you guys had better like it! Recently, I feel like people haven't been using Fanfiction as much and I want to get that trend going again! Please review, because I really like your responses. Tell me what you think should happen in the next chapter? Should she escape? Steve come and visit her? Break out? Or is she going to her death? You decide!**


	21. Memories

**Now...I know this may be a bit off the rails...but I am going to do a Steve POV for this chapter. Please do not get mad. This is the only time that I am going to do this unless people say it is great and I add it in occasionally. This is just so we get a grip of what is happening whilst Maria is in prison. Hope you like it! Bit rushed so sorry if there are any mistakes!**

 **Steve POV**

"Maria..." I whispered as I watched the doors close, blocking her from me. I shut my eyes and breathed out harshly.

"Sooooo...you and Hill huh?." Tony joked, laughing, and I felt rage boil up inside of me. He always made jokes and picked at things that he knew would aggravate you.

"You never shut up, do you..." I said, between gritted teeth trying to keep calm.

"Well, I shut up when you kissed Maria. That's for sure. I always knew you had a thing for her." he said and I had nearly reached the end of my patience.

"I swear to God, if you don't shut up i'll-"

"You'll what? Give me a good ol' talk on righteousness and peace?" he asked from behind me and I could almost see his smirk in front of my eyes. I spun round and kicked him in the face before he could react. The others gasped and Natasha and James came to his aid.

"Tony?" James asked, checking his pulse and seeing if he would respond. I was too angry to care about anything like Stark right now. "He's just been knocked out. He should be fine." he said, trying to lift Tony up and failing. Thor came over and lifted him up in one big swoop, James trailing behind him, giving me an evil glare that made me feel a little uncomfortable. I had seen what Rhodey was capable of. He planned everything with precision and never failed any of his missions, because of those plans. He wasn't reckless, unlike Tony. Maybe the combination of the two made them a good team?

Natasha stood up and pulled me into the corridor that separated the bedrooms. "Rogers..." she began, but I was too angry to listen to her. "Steve!" she urged and after a moment I decided to listen. I was so worried about Maria. I had only just got her and now she was being taken away. _Why is it that everyone I care for is taken away?_ "You need to calm down okay?"

"I know I do, but-"

"No buts." she said sternly, face levelled and emotionless, and I looked at the floor. A Black Widow. Me and her had done a few partnerships with Strike Team Delta along with Clint and she was lethal on the battlefield. "Sort yourself out. Take half an hour to get your head straight before coming back into the room to search for Maria."

"But-"

"Hey!" she snapped and I flicked my head up to look at her. "You are not coming back to the room for half an hour. You need to calm down, take a breather." She opened my door and watched me go in. "JARVIS, don't let him out for half an hour."

"Yes, Miss Romanoff." he replied.

"Really?" I asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yep." she smiled and shut the door, leaving me to the silence of my room. I took a moment to actually find the motivation to move myself to sit on a chair. I went to the dining table and pulled out a stool for me to sit on. I rested my forearms on it and slowly rested my head against it. Stark irritated me very much. I could tell that he would from when we were first introduced. His arrogant demeanour was obviously going to conflict with me. I'm nothing special. As he said, 'Everything special about you came out of a bottle'...and it did. I much preferred Howard to Tony. I could talk easily with him. Maybe the time difference was getting to my head...

I did miss it. I missed the smell and feel of fresher air, the type that I could now only experience on the balcony of Stark Tower as it was much higher than all the other buildings, but it still wasn't the same feel. Bucky was one thing that I still needed to sort out. Me and Sam had been trying to track him down for ages. Peggy was the one person who I missed, but it wasn't as if I was being held back. I used to feel like that when I first woke up, surrounded by all these people that I didn't know. I always remembered being so nervous about meeting new people. I was worried about how they would treat me. Most people have been accepting, but there have been a few that haven't been the most welcoming. I'm not surprised. I didn't expect everyone to accept me.

The one person who did was Maria. I didn't expect her to come into my life, but now I can't imagine living without her...but it might come to that. I couldn't lose her. I hit my head on my forearms and the glass centre smashed into pieces. I didn't care about the table right now. All I cared about was her. Suddenly, I heard a noise come from my bedside table. It was my phone.

 _I remember Maria teaching me how to use this.._ I thought to myself as I walked over and picked it up. I clicked the home button, as the screen was blank, and it said that I had a message from Wanda. **We are following her. Don't worry.**

I sighed a little, knowing that she wouldn't let anything happen to Maria. 'We' must've been her and Vision, two people who also seemed to get along quite well. I had wondered if anything had happened between them, but so far they have just been close friends.

Lying down on my bed, I thought about all of the things that made me miss her. Her cute smile that she would do whenever I joked about something, but she was trying not to laugh. The way that she would look at me when I walked into a room. I may be from the 1930's, but I'm not stupid. From that first kiss we had on that mission together, I was drawn to her. I tried not to crowd her space, but I didn't keep my distance either. I know the kiss was just our cover, but it felt like more to me. I decided not to bring it up though. She probably didn't want that. Her lips were perfect and I actually felt calm on a mission, unlike every other time. I am constantly looking out for threats on missions, alone or with a partner, but her kiss made my troubles fade, as did the kisses after that actually. I remember making waffles for her when she had gotten back, because I knew she would want them, even if she wasn't hungry.

I remember the next morning when I heard her screaming. I ran to the door, but Clint was already there dealing with the situation. And then I came back later to check on her and she told me about her fear of spiders was what made her upset, but I knew it wasn't true. I didn't want to push and ask her what the matter really was. She had to meet Scott that morning, which all went according to plan, and she looked so perfect. I wondered whether she realised it or not, but that's what she was to me...perfect.

Then Scott trained and I punched Stark in the face for being such an idiot. He was an idiot. He was rude to Maria a lot and I didn't like the names that he called her. She did have emotions...she shared them with me. She helped me fix my problems and I helped her too. _We were a good team and still are._

When I found out about Coulson, I was devastated. At first, I couldn't stop feeling angry at her for not telling me. We had been carrying the guilt for ages, but I afterwards I understand that there were protocols in place to protect her. I hugged her that day and I tried not to think about kissing her, but I couldn't stop it. I just wanted to feel her lips against mine again, which was probably an un-gentlemanly thought, but I couldn't help it. She was irresistible. I had no idea how she didn't have every man after her. I enjoyed looking after her. I liked keeping her safe.

The most memorable moment when on our first mission with Scott was not seeing the Antman, it was seeing Maria working with my shield. It was weirdly attractive and she used it so well. He flow and co-ordination made me a little envious that she used the shield better than me. I had the idea in the back of my mind to train her using a shield. That's why I suggested it to Tony.

 **Flashback to a few weeks ago**

"Uh...Tony?" I asked, knocking on the door, knowing he would be in his lab at this time of night.

"Yeah?" he asked, not even looking away from the project he was working on.

"I have...an idea about Maria's new suit..." I said, hoping that he wouldn't bring it up that I was doing something connected to Maria. We had been getting close recently and I didn't want Tony's matchmaking to ruin what we had. Maybe we would just stay as friends...maybe not...

"Ah, you want to impress the crush with some new ideas? I see your plan." he said, standing up and going to the wall. I ignored the comment and followed him over where he pressed a button and a small room was revealed, containing her suit that the team, apart from Maria, and I had all seen in the past. I smiled slightly, having that ten millionth thought again that it would suit her perfectly. "Okay, tell me your idea Spangles."

I rolled my eyes at the nickname. "How about giving her a shield?" I asked, hoping that he would go along with idea.

He raised an eyebrow. "So you two can be a matching pair?"

"Back to the point Tony. Is it a good idea?" I replied, trying not to go red in the face. I cared a lot about Maria. I didn't want her thinking that we were an item already. I just wanted her to see me as more than a friend. If that wasn't going to happen then I would accept it. That I was...not comfortable with, but I could live with it.

He hummed for a moment and then smiled, nodding at the idea. "Sounds like a plan, Captain. What colour scheme?"

"I didn't think of that yet..."

"Okay, it might get a little dirty if it's white and black isn't really a good colour to go with, so how about the same style as yours?" he asked, smirking slightly.

"Tony..." I warned and he put his hands up.

"I can't think of anything else that would go..." he replied, trying to convince me.

Reluctantly I nodded. "Fine, have it the same style, but change something about it otherwise we might get confused with which shield is ours."

"Aye, aye, Captain." he said, saluting. I sighed and left the room, trying not to think of how great she would look in the suit.

 **Present day**

After Tony blew up the bomb in the sky, I couldn't help but feel happy that the mission went successfully...that was until someone aimed a gun at Maria. My stomach jumped into my throat and I felt so vulnerable. I had never felt like that. I had feelings for Peggy, but this was something different entirely. Me and Maria had more time to connect. I felt closer to her than I had felt with anyone in my life.

 **Back to the mission**

I looked out of the window, down at the city, and smiled at the thought of protecting them. It was my duty and I loved doing it. I couldn't imagine a life without shield. I walked over to where Scott was standing on his own, fiddling with something on his suit.

"Hey." I greeted and he looked up.

"Oh hey Cap." he replied and smiled. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah. Yeah, everything is fine. I just wanted to say well done you know." I smiled. Thank God he saved Maria. I don't think he understood how grateful I was, so I wanted to thank him in person, especially.

"Thank you. That means a lot." he replied and looked over at Maria. I did the same and noticed that she was writing some notes down about the mission or something like that. I didn't realise that Scott had stopped looking at her and started looking at me. "I know why you are really thanking me though." he said and I looked back at him.

"I'm sorry?" I asked, wanting to know what he meant by it.

"Maria." he said, simply. Just the name made my stomach have butterflies in it. "You are happy I saved her I know."

"Well...yeah...I guess. Thank you for that especially." I said and looked back at her, completely oblivious to my gaze and affection.

"You should ask her out you know." he suggested and I looked at him.

He went wide-eyed. "I'm r-really sorry, Sir. I'll g...get back to-"

"No, i'm not angry." I said, reassuringly and he let out a breath he had been holding. "I'm just curious as to why you would think that."

"Well you two are close aren't you? You like her a lot i'm guessing..." he said and I didn't answer. "Exactly."

"What am I going to do?" I asked and he laughed.

"There's nothing you can do." he replied and I looked at him confused. "If it's going to happen, then it's going to happen. Don't plan anything just let your feelings flow. If something feels right in that moment then do it." he added and got back to his work.

"Thanks." I replied, absent-mindedly. I went back to looking at Maria. _How come it got to this?_ I asked myself, walking back to my seat.

 **Present day**

Coming back after the mission was a pain, especially when Wanda started having a go at Maria. I felt so angry when she started entering her mind. It was so invasive and rude. I got angry and couldn't help, but stop Wanda. Maria had her secrets, but they were _her_ secrets after all. She had the right to keep them.

Looking after her was a privilege, not a chore. However, when she pointed a gun at my head after having a nightmare, I wished that I had stayed with her earlier to prevent it from happening. When she told me she didn't even know her name, I wanted to hold her tightly and keep her there to make sure that no one ever hurt her again. It pained me to think that now she is going to be sentenced to death soon..

As her secrets were revealed, I wanted to be there to support her. I didn't care that I didn't know what her name was, I cared about who _she_ was. Going shopping with her was more exciting than I initially thought it would be. I love thinking about afterwards in the car when we were holding hands. Her hands were so soft in mine and I remember her shivering slightly when I stroked the back of her hand. I liked getting that reaction from her.

The white dress she wore was absolutely breathtaking. I still remember the little triangles that were cut out from the middle of the white dress that showed off her stomach muscles. I involuntarily groaned the first time I saw her, trying not to think about making my move that night, because I had noticed her drinking before she came towards us. I didn't want alcohol spoiling our relationship. When she came over and sat with us though, I couldn't help but look at her amazing figure.

I tried to intervene when she got into a fight with a girl, but she seemed perfectly fine battling her corner when she began to dance. That night was very difficult for me not to get closer to her. Drinking would've distracted me, but the serum meant that alcohol didn't effect me. I couldn't tell whether that was a good or bad thing then. After she finished, I was so distracted by dancing that I didn't know that another set of girls were picking on Maria at the bar until James left to say he would be back in a minute. I saw him defend Hill, but after the girls left and Rhodey and Hill had finished talking, she left. I saw the elevator doors shut on her and decided to follow her.

Joining her on the roof was fun. I kept her warm as we looked up at the sky and discussed the stars. She fascinated me, even if she was drunk. She was incredible. Being so close brought back my feelings and I had to push them out of my mind just to concentrate on getting her to her room to sleep. I smiled at the idea of yesterday morning. I woke up and went out of the window to get her flowers to put on the table. That just caused a whole amount of chaos for her afterwards when we found out someone had been impersonating Black Death.

Before, when she was telling me about her trainers, she said to me "My trainers weren't exactly the nicest." and "Feel free to leave.". Like I was going to leave her...

I just sat there and held her in my arms until she was summoned into the kitchen by the others Avengers. When she came back, she sat next to me and put her head against my shoulder. I closed my eyes, loving the feeling of being this close to her. She was holding my hand, but I noticed that she kept holding it tightly and then releasing it, as if she were debating something in her mind.

 **Yesterday morning**

"Maria, are you okay?" I asked, worried about her. She seemed nervous. I was too, but she seemed even more so. She lifted up her head and I smiled on the inside at her beautiful face. "You seem a little...I don't know...on edge?"

"I...umm...errr...I just..." I suddenly got worried that something bad had happened. What had they talked about in the kitchen? What was the matter?

"Is something wrong?" I asked, my voice filled with concern. I didn't want her to be hurt. I wanted to know all of her problems.

"I..." she said, but didn't finish. I saw her bite her lip and I had to stop myself from kissing her on the lips right then. I noticed her eyes flick to my lips and then back up to my eyes. I wondered whether she was going to kiss me and the thought made me show her a small smile. _God, she is beautiful._ I thought, my eyes locked with hers. She slowly leaned over to me and I made sure not to move my head any closer, as I didn't want to pressure her into anything.

Her lips delicately grazed over mine, almost as if it didn't happen at all, but I felt all the passion she wanted to show me. _Wow._ I thought to myself. _Just one kiss from her is driving me crazy._ Her lips were soft and I felt my eyelids shut as I let the feeling over whelm me. She made me feel different. I could feel the blood pumping through my veins as she pulled away from me, not needing to pull that far as the kiss was so light. I felt a shaky breath against my lips as she moved back and I kept my eyes shut, relishing what had just happened.

"Steve?" she asked and I opened my eyes slowly.

"You meant that?" I asked, double checking that this was actually happening to me. I had the thought that she didn't mean it, that this was all just a trick, but it certainly didn't feel like one.

"Yes." she replied, softly. I couldn't help myself. I leaned towards her and captured her lips again. I pushed them more firmly against her this time and ran my hand up her arm to the back of her neck. I liked stroking her there and decided that I should keep doing it, as every time I did a little moan escaped her lips that made the kiss even better. We smiled against each others lips and when I started to fiddle with the hair on the back of her neck, she giggled as much as she could with my lips against hers. We fit so perfectly and I instantly discovered that kissing her was my new favourite hobby.

I couldn't help but whisper "Wow..." in between one of our kisses, which she laughed at. She was incredible at kissing. I didn't really have much experience with kissing, as the only other two people I had kissed were Peggy and Romanoff on a mission, but she seemed to constantly leave me breathless, which Tony mentioned a couple of weeks ago was a good thing when he did it with Pepper.

I felt my body take over as I pushed more firmly against her lips and I worried about whether it was too much, but she started kissing back with the same strength, so I continued. Suddenly there was a knock at the door and she pulled away, gasping from the intrusion. I glared at the door, but then turned back to her. "I should probably get that..." she said, but I didn't want her to leave.

"JARVIS, who is that at the door and what do they want?" I asked, kissing her again. She smiled as she kissed me and I think it was because of how confident I was being. I felt confident kissing her in that moment and I smiled with her. I debated in my mind whether to touch her or not. I remembered Scott's words in my mind - i _f something feels right in that moment then do it._ And it did feel right in that moment.

Her tongue slid over my bottom lip and I moaned, placing my hand on her hips. I stroked her hip and I had the urge to touch her, but knew that it was wrong of me to do anymore. JARVIS spoke up again.

"It is Director Fury. He wishes to speak with Agent Hill."

"Shit." she cursed.

"Langu-" I began to respond, but stopped myself. I almost cursed in my head at what I had said. I didn't mean to say it. It had just developed over time. "Sorry, reflexes." I apologised.

I didn't take note of her face before I looked up and saw her panicking. "Get in my bedroom." she commanded, staring at me. I literally could not tell whether she meant it in a sexual way or a serious way.

"Excuse me!" I said, my eyes going wide. _I don't want to go that far with her, at least not yet._ I scolded my mind to even think about doing that to her in the future.

"I need to get rid of Fury. Now go!" she shouted and ushered me into the bedroom. I had the chance to quickly kiss her on the cheek, which made her smile, before the doors shut.

I stood next to the door and heard some muffled noises before they sat down on the sofa, where I could hear them better. _We were kissing right there not thirty seconds ago._ I thought to myself. I shook my head, getting back to the task.

"Evidence? For what case?" I heard Maria ask. _What is going on? Something to do with a case?_

"Yours." he replied. "The evidence I have is this." There was silence. Complete silence for a few seconds. _What was happening? Was this serious? It seemed serious?_

"29 of our agents are dead after going on a mission to track down some missing tech from Ultron that was detected from an office building." _Oh God..._

 **Present day**

And that was the beginning of the madness. How did this happen? We were kissing in the simulation room yesterday afternoon. She made me feel incredible and I never wanted to lose that feeling that I got around her. It's crazy. I sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "JARVIS, how long is it until I can leave?"

"20 seconds, Sir." he replied and I sighed, knowing that I would be able to go and help sort out who was impersonating Maria with the team. I decided to go to the door, taking the phone with me, and ring Wanda.

She picked up after the second ring. "Hi Steve."

"Hello Wanda. What's happened?" I asked, urgency running through my tone.

"They've just taken her to the prison. She seems fine when I'm sending messages to her." she replied.

"Okay, just stay there for as long as you can okay?"

"Of course and Steve?"

"Yeah."

"She said that she didn't want you visiting her..." I didn't understand. Why wouldn't she want me coming to see her?

"Why doesn't she want me to c-" I stopped mid-sentence and hung my head down slightly. I shut my eyes and shook my head for a moment. "She thinks she is going to die, doesn't she?" I asked, but got no response from Wanda. They had had their arguments, rather big arguments, but Wanda now cared for Maria quite a lot. She was a friend to her and friends feel pain. It is the same pain I feel now that Bucky has gone again. "She doesn't want to see me, because she doesn't want to hurt me."

"That's what she said to me." she replied, sadly over the phone.

I sighed and said "You know I'm going anyway right?"

"I don't think anyone would try and stop you, honestly." she responded and I nodded.

"Well thank you. I really needed that information." I replied and went to say goodbye, but she spoke up.

"She really cares for you, you know. I've spoken to her in training. You mean a lot to her." she said.

"She means a lot to me too." I said, almost angrily into the phone before speaking up again. "Goodbye Wanda. Be safe."

"You too." she replied and hung up. I stood there for a moment, eyes set on the floor as I listened to the dead phone tone that ran through it's speakers. I closed my eyes and remembered how Maria had Wanda and Vision protecting her. She was safe. With that in mind, I walked out of the room, that had now been unlocked as the thirty minutes were over, and headed towards the research room.

 **Maria POV**

"Do you understand?" the jailer asked. "No disturbances." he said and slammed the jail door shut. I wasn't in a normal cell. This cell was separated from all of the usual cells.

I laid down on the bed they had given me, which really wasn't very comfortable, and got back in contact with Wanda. **"Hey, you there?"** she asked and I smiled to myself.

 **"Yeah, i'm not going anywhere..."** I said, looking around in my cell. There was nothing that I could use to aid my escape. There was also a security camera in the top corner that was monitoring me. As well as that, there were two security guards outside, both facing outwards.

 **"I just called Steve."** I sprung up in my bed, which caused one of the guards to turn around and look at me suspiciously, before pretending to tie my hair up a bit tighter than it was. I smiled sarcastically at the guard and slumped back down, the man turning around to face outwards again. I shut my eyes and relaxed.

 **"Well, is he okay? What did he say?"** I asked, urgently. I just wanted to know whether he was safe or not and whether he was unharmed. I hoped that they didn't do anything to him. I couldn't believe how much I cared towards him now. It had only been a few weeks since we had been getting really close and sometimes I felt like I couldn't control myself around him. I wouldn't even get to hold him in my arms again. That thought made me want to break down into tears, but I continued to tell myself to be strong and not let my weakness out. I didn't need that right now. I couldn't get emotional. I needed to be strategic.

 **"He said that he is coming to visit you regardless of what you say..."** she replied and I sighed, sinking further into the pillows.

 **"I guess I kinda knew he would do that anyway."**

 **"We are going to stay here for you okay?"**

 **"No, you have to go home. Get some rest or something. You can't do this for me."** I did feel guilty. I didn't want them camping out there just for my benefit.

 **"How are you going to stop us? Walk out and give us a telling off?"** she asked, a hint of humour to her tone, and I smiled at her attempt to lighten the mood.

 **"Fine. There is no way of escaping here anyway."** I said, giving into them.

 **"You won't need to escape. We'll break you out."** she replied.

 **"Whatever you say, Maximoff."** I replied and turned to the side to face the wall, feeling Wanda disconnect. _I miss you, Steve. I don't want to die._

 **I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. I really wanted a Steve oriented chapter for this. Did you like the fact that I gave Steve a POV or not? Should I include it in the future? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. PLEASE REVIEW! Thank you xx Put a lot of work into this one :)**


	22. Lonely

**Heya! Can't wait to finish this story, but I am going to try and drag it out as long as possible. Here is a quick overview of what has happened because sometimes I forget the chapters I read of other people's stories and I don't want to go back and over-read. This chapter is quite fast tempo by the way.**

 **\- Maria and Steve had just started a relationship, but didn't tell anyone.**

 **\- Maria has been in prison for being seen killing 29 shield agents on CCTV even though the team believe it to be someone impersonating Maria as they have a mark on their skin that Maria doesn't have.**

 **\- Steve and Maria kissed before Maria was escorted out of the building**

 **Maria POV**

I lay down on my uncomfortable bed looking up at the ceiling. I was bored. It had been three days since my arrest and they still hadn't taken me in for questioning. Wanda said that they were gathering all the information they could before interviewing me to get all of their facts straight. I missed the Tower. I missed all of them.

I shut my eyes, wanting to have a little rest, but heard the cell door open.

"Up." the guard commanded and I rolled my eyes, but followed his commands. As I walked out of the prison door, I saw him turn his nose up at me. I was fed up with people looking at me like that, thinking that I killed those people. I never saw any other place apart from my own cell, the corridor and the bathroom. I was yet to see the delights of the interrogation room. I saw a sign hanging on one of the doors that read 'Interrogation Room 1', but the guards escorted me past that room. _Where are we going?_

"Where are we going to?" I asked, curious as to whether they were taking me to my death before interviewing me.

"Someone has requested a visit to see you." he answered, not even bothering to look at me.

"Who?" I asked and he snapped his head round to me.

"You only get one visit whilst you are here, so be fucking grateful. Stop asking questions." he ordered and I complied. I didn't want to get into any more trouble than I already had.

They opened a door on my left that said 'Visitors Room'. I looked at the door, wondering who on Earth could be sitting behind it. _Please don't be Steve._ The door opened and Natasha was sitting there, tapping a pen against the table. When her eyes met mine, she put the pen into her jacket pocket and clasped her hands together, putting them on top of the table. I let out an unexpected sigh that must've been from the relief of not seeing Steve sitting there.

"Natasha." I greeted, a small smile gracing my lips.

"Surprised to see me?" she asked, as the guards brought me to sit down.

"Not surprised...just glad." I replied, the guards handcuffing one of my wrists to the table. The table was grey, sterile and put about a metre between me and Nat. I guessed that they didn't want any surprises of me trying to escape. I was quite amused that they thought I would.

"I also wasn't surprised when you said that you didn't want Steve to be here..." she said, raising an eyebrow.

"He's not here, is he?" I asked, hoping that the answer would be no.

"No, we had to restrain him just to keep him in the tower." she said, a small laugh passing through her lips. "I understood why you didn't want him here." I nodded and she added "I would want the same for Clint if something like this ever happened to me."

"Speaking of, is he okay? What about the rest of them?" I asked, wanting a topic change.

"They are all coping, but they miss you dearly." she said and I could see a smile behind her eyes. "We all do. Hopefully you won't be in here any longer. We are close to finding out who impersonated you."

I looked around the room. "You know that they could be recording this right?"

"Oh, I'm counting on it. What are they gonna do?" she asked, a smirk lifting up her lips. I felt comfortable with her, even if I was in uncomfortable prison clothes. "If they are listening, then they will realise that you are not the victim here and that we are going to prove your innocence. We are half way through the list of names. Shouldn't be long until the list is complete and then we can bust your ass out of here."

"Thank you." I said, smiling. "So, what has Fury told you?"

"Fury has acutall-" her speech was interrupted by some men coming into the room and walking over to me.

"Wait, I haven't finished..." I said as they undid my handcuff from the table bar and redid it back onto my other wrist.

"Hey!" Natasha started, getting up out of her seat, but guards came and restrained her as well. _No! I wanted to talk more with her. I missed her. I missed having someone to talk to. The prison was driving me mad. I didn't want to be alone._

"Natasha!" I shouted as I struggled against the guards, hands behind my back in restraints.

"Maria!" she shouted back, but I was already half way out of the door. They slammed it and pulled me back down the corridor. After a few seconds of struggling, I decided that they weren't going to take me back. So I went with them, back to my cell, and they practically shoved me into the room before locking the door.

 _Four rooms seen then..._ I thought to myself and laid back down on the bed, returning to my most popular view of the ceiling.

 **Steve POV**

"So, how is she?" I asked Wanda and Vision, almost in a pleading way. I needed her back with me. I felt lonely without her by my side. I missed the colours of her face and her sweet voice that made me smile every time I heard it. Natasha had given me a report a couple of days ago about how hollow she seemed, but reminded me that she still had her spirit.

"She seems okay..." Wanda spoke softly.

"There hasn't been much information as of yet. They are keeping her in a cell. She gets meals three times a day, but is not liking to room itself." Vision answered, less emotion in his voice for obvious reasons.

"She is kept on her own away from the other cell mates. She likes that so that she can think." _At least she has the space to think..._ "Don't worry." she said, comforting me by putting an arm around my shoulders.

"I do worry. This is all my fault..." I said to myself, moving my shoulder so that we were no longer in contact. I looked through some more names and checked the paper for faults.

"Look, there is nothing to be done, but check through these stupid files." Tony said, sitting in his chair, cup of fresh coffee in his hand. I was tired of his attitude.

"Come on, it's been 5 days. We must have something!" Clint said, huffing and relaxing into his chair as he ran his hands over his face.

"Look, it will take 3 more days to complete the whole search then we need to go through all of the names that are suspicious to us, that is if we don't recruit any more agents, but we can't because this is top secret..."

"You have another plan?" Natasha asked, picking up on the tone of my voice.

I nodded. "Some of us need to go through the names that already have suspicious notes on their files. That way we-"

"No, that's a stupid idea." Tony interrupted, waving his free hand around. "We need to sort through the files first and then go through the list of suspicious ones. What's the point of going through the already suspicious if her name is at the end of the list and one of her details is obvious?"

"Tony, we will be saving time if we start going through them now..." I said, trying not to get irritated. Mine and Tony's friendship had been drifting apart recently with no sign of it getting better.

"We need to keep searching the files that have come up and then go through the second list."

"It will save time if we start looking now." I replied, keeping down the anger inside of me.

"I thought you wanted to help her. Doing this will just slow the process!" He was talking absolute rubbish. "I thought you were the one who wanted to save her."

"I do." I stated, firmly.

"Thinking about it, if you had just stayed down in the ice for longer then none of this would've happened..." he said and came close to my face. "Actually, why did you bother coming up..." That hurt. I knew he was frustrated about Maria, but it pained me to hear that. Stark's retorts never really hit home, but that...hurt. Of course I cared for Maria. But maybe he was right...if I hadn't have come up from the surface then there would be less evidence against her. I shut my eyes and tightened my grip against the table.

"Tony!" Pepper scolded. I opened my eyes and saw her giving Stark a death glare, gesturing towards the exit. His eyes flickered violently back to mine before focussing on making his way to the door.

"What do we do? Your plan or his?" Scott asked, him, along with the rest of the group, looking thoroughly confused with the tension between me and Stark.

"We run with mine. Wanda, Vision, Sam, Clint and Thor will search through the one's already complete and the rest of you can keep going through the names. Clear?" I said and they all nodded before immersing themselves in the search. I really did appreciate their work and not just because Maria was in danger, but because they were so support of everything.

 **Maria POV**

It had been five days that I had been in the cell and I was getting used to the loneliness of it. The peace and quiet had given me time to reflect on my life and I thought about how so many different people had met me. Coulson, Clint, Natasha, Steve. I think I would miss them the most. Wanda told me earlier that she was flying back to the Avengers Tower with Vision to update Steve, but I haven't heard from her since. Maybe something happened or they needed or wanted more help with the search. I wondered whether they would ever be able to find who was impersonating me.

I heard the cell lock click and sat up to see a guard unlocking it with a key he had. "Move." the guard commanded and I quickly got up. There was no point in being defensive about it. He _was_ just doing his job, but then again he didn't have to be so strict. _You would be exactly the same..._ I told myself.

The guard took me to a room with grey walls and what looked like a two-way mirror. I stared at it for a moment before looking at the other 3 walls to make it look less suspicious. Someone entered and I sat up a little straighter.

"Miss Hill." he said, his voice emotionless...like mine used to be. I couldn't tell whether I preferred my life without emotions. If I went back to the old me then Steve and I wouldn't have gotten together, which may have been for the better. He could've found a girl that isn't a convicted criminal. "29 agents..." he said and then sat down. "Dead." I sat there, just looking at him, not really knowing how I should react to that. It's not old news, but it is bad news. "Tell me where you were that morning..." he demanded. They must've been making sure they had all the right answers.

"In bed after a party that had happened at S.H.I.E.L.D." my voice not wavering for a moment.

"It is said that your window was opened half an hour before the murders. Why?"

"Captain Rogers checked up on me after the party. He exited my window, got some flowers and placed them in a vase on the table." I said, remembering to use Steve's formal name. The interrogated looked at me suspiciously and I noted that he was one of S.H.I.E.L.D's old employees.

"How awfully convenient. Why would he do that?" he asked and I tried not to smile. _Because he cares for me..._ I told myself in my head.

"He was getting them, because he's a gentleman. He cares for the team and it's members." I replied.

"How come you have been seen killing all 29 agents then?" he said, taking out a tablet and passing it to me. It was the security footage. The woman had a very good fighting style actually.

" _I_ didn't." I replied, emphasising the 'I'. We held each others gaze for a couple of seconds before he spoke again, both of us in staring contest.

"Then who is this..." he said, snatching the tablet back. "Looks an awful lot like you..." He smirked and I nearly threw up at his smugness.

"That's what we were trying to find out before you arrested me." I said, smiling sarcastically. If I was going down, I was going down with attitude. I hoped that they found the killer in time, because I wanted to get back to the others. I liked our floor at the Avengers building. Yes, we had to go on missions and we had to train people, but that top floor was our floor and I enjoyed the fact of living with that large amount of people. We were slowly becoming a family...I just wasn't going to be a part of it.

"Okay, what evidence do you have then?" he said, smiling slightly. I knew he believed that I was completely guilty.

"Look at her hand. There is a mole spread there that is only present in 1 in 10000 people. We were trying to find out who it was." I said to him and he shook his head, laughing.

"Nice story." he said and continued with his questions.

After we went through almost every question in the book, I was finally released, much to my happiness, and taken back to my cell, which I never wanted to leave again if it meant I only went to the interrogation room and back. I slumped onto my bed and saw the jailer locking up the door again, the guards remaining on either side of my prison. _Had they even moved?_

I closed my eyes and listened out for Wanda, but she was gone. I decided that sleep was probably the best thing to do, because there was nothing else I could do. Also, I needed my strength back up and the pillow seemed like a dream to fall onto.

 **A few hours later**

"Hey, lady!" I heard someone shout and I scrunched up my eyes before opening them to see a man dressed in black come towards me, a hand on his gun. "You are to come with me."

I followed him all the way back to the interrogation room. _Hello, old friend._ They opened the door, sat me down and handcuffed my wrist to the table like usual. A man came in, the one who was interrogating me earlier and sat down on the chair opposite me.

"What is it this time?" I huffed and leant back in my chair.

"Your execution date is the 8th of March 2016." he said and I sat up a little. _Tomorrow. They are killing me tomorrow. I don't know whether that will give the Avengers enough time or not..._ "You will be executed by form of lethal injections at 1300 hours." he added. I would never see Steve's face again.

"Have the Avengers been informed?" I asked, trying not to break. I had formed this amazing relationship with Steve and now something that is not my fault at all is going to ruin it.

"The information is not being made public." he told me and I looked up at him, confused.

"So what happens when people begin to notice my absence?" I asked.

"We already have a mission report ready. We will say that you had an unfortunate accident in the Alps."

"What about my legal rights?" I asked and he shook his head.

"They aren't being taken into perspective. You murdered twenty nin-"

"It wasn't me." I insisted.

"Hey!" he said, pointing his finger at me. "You murdered twenty nine agents and someone has to pay. Who cares about whether S.H.I.E.L.D wants their most beloved lap dog back with them. I'm sure they can function without you. Having a murderer on their side is probably not good for their image, which makes them want to get rid of you nearly as much as I do." he said and narrowed his eyes at me. "This building..." he said, gesturing to the room. "is where America's secrets are. The secrets that the public don't need to know about are brushed under the carpet to this place. You are one of those secrets and you cannot be allowed to roam free. Your face is on that footage. You are to blame, so suck it up and take it, because you are not going anywhere." He got up and exited the room.

I stared forward at the grey wall of the interrogation room, the colour reminding me of every other room in this place, as that was the general colour scheme. As he said, the building was for secrets. I was a secret now. They didn't want the information to be public as it would put a bad mark against the government and the Avengers. After New York, London and Sokovia, they saw what the Avengers can do, what they are capable of, and I don't think they wanted to go against that. I smiled at the idea that my team was a force to be reckoned with, that people were scared of them, because it made them stronger.

Soon, I was pulled out of my seat, yet again, and thrown back in my cell. I went to my spot, lying down on my bed, and stayed awake awaiting the execution that was to come. I was tired of fighting it. I was going to die and they weren't going to get here in time...

 **Steve POV**

I was beginning to tire of the search, but I knew that we had to keep going. We continued the search for hours and hours. It was getting close to 11:30 and I almost felt like going to bed until...

"GUYS! I HAVE A MATCH!" Clint shouted, almost jumping out of his seat. Once the names were individually found, we had to locate the photos in a separate database that JARVIS couldn't just scan and then compare to the Black Death's photos. It had to be downloaded every time.

"Show us!" I near shouted. We had been in this room searching night after night through all of the names and files. She was improtant to us. I needed Maria to be safe. If we had gone with Stark's plan, then we wouldn't have been here for much longer. I put that thought to the back of my mind.

"Name's Rachel Underwood. Dark brown hair, similar build to Maria, has a mole in the same spot round about I think. JARVIS - cross reference." Clint commanded. JARVIS brought the picture of the women alongside the one of Black Death and a blue scanner went across the face their faces. An orange rectangular ox saying 'MATCH FOUND' was on the screen and I could feel the blood pumping through my veins. _She's going to be okay..._ A smile grew on my face and I looked around at the others who were just as happy.

Natasha kissed Clint's cheek and whispered a well done before turning to me. "The plan?" she asked.

"Go to the woman's address and taker her back here."

"You do not want her dead?" Tony asked and I gritted my teeth at the suggestion. Stark was beginning to get on my nerves. Ever since I met him, I came to the conclusion that he was an arrogant man who didn't know when to stop himself from stepping over the line. I swallowed my retort and answered his question.

"No, Stark, I don't want her dead. She needs to play, but not with her life. We also need her confession." I said, withholding myself from sharpening my eyes at him.

"So how are we going about this?" Sam asked, noticing the tension between the two of us.

"Half take the front of the house, half of us go round the back to the porch area as shown online. JARVIS, plan our route."

"Already done, Sir." he replied and I saw Tony smile out of the corner of my eyes about how well his technology had worked.

"Natasha, call Wanda and Vision back here. Everyone else, suit up." I ordered and left the group to get ready.

I practically ran to my room, desperate to get changed quickly, and grabbed my uniform. I got changed in what must've been record timing. As I reached for the extra gun in my drawer, I took a moment to look at the drawing of Maria that I kept in there too. I hadn't shown her any of the drawings I had done for her as I was embarrassed about it really. I began to draw her ever since we spoke on the balcony about her problems. We were sitting on the chairs outside, looking out at the recruits, and I noticed her writing notes on her pad about them, trying not to be noticed, but of course I did notice. I looked up at here a moment, admiring her face, before I interrupted her. She looked like an absolutely angel, the sunlight hitting the side of her face, lighting up her beautiful eyes. I smiled at her, not that she knew, and decided that I would attempt to draw her angelic features. I had no idea whether I had succeeded in reflecting her goddess like features, but I kept it anyway. I had many other drawings of her, and all the other Avengers actually, but I kept them hidden in the second draw. I didn't think they were particularly any good anyway.

Knowing that we were against the clock, I grabbed my gun, put it in my holster and headed for the roof. They were all in a circle beside the helicopter, which hadn't powered up yet. Natasha was in the middle and as soon as she noticed me, all of the others did too. There was a phone in her hand and I looked up at her puzzled.

"What is it?" I asked, worried about what they were talking about.

"It's Maria. Her execution date is tomorrow." she said, slipping her phone into her back pocket. I felt my mouth drop open slightly and my breathing went a little faster. Anyone else hearing this news might've broken down and given up, but I felt more motivated than before. We needed to save her.

"Let's go." I ordered, determination on my face and my whole team right behind me as I climbed into the helicopter, which had now just started powering up.

 **Execution day - 6000 hours at Underwood's location**

"Everyone ready?" I asked into the comms system attached to my wrist.

"In position and ready, Captain." Romanoff replied. I was comfortable having her leading the other part of the team. She was my 'right hand woman' like Maria was Fury's, however I didn't like that expression. Too many women are objectified, so I preferred the term partner.

"In 3...2...1...go." I said and we burst through the doors into the living room of the woman's house. As soon as we entered, the woman's eyes went wide and she dashed immediately for the stairs. "Romanoff!" I shouted and Natasha blocked her way to the stairs just in time.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked, innocently before violently head-butting the woman. Underwood stumbled backwards and I heard her growl at her opponent. As the rest of the team made their way further through the house, I saw Underwood begin her assault on Natasha. Punches were thrown and dodged, none actually making contact with skin. I ran to the side of the room where a door was, one with a keypad next to it.

"Stark..." I said and he immediately got out his decoder and attached it against the pad. "Sam, Wanda, help Romanoff." I instructed and they nodded, going to help her restrain the woman. There was a bleeping from the device and I snapped my head round to look at it. I opened the door and saw another door at the end of a short corridor. We got to it and I realised it was a biometric scan. _Thank goodness we decided to prepare in full._

"Damn it...Scott, where are we on the-"

"Just finished it." Scott replied, flying past me in his antman suit. He placed the wax against the scanner and the door opened, revealing a bunch of computers and boxes all piled up. On the central screen was a picture...a picture of Maria. Her face made my stomach flip and I shook my head, trying to keep my mind on the mission.

"Iron Man, grab the information and let's get out of here." I said, inspecting the area, but not finding anything apart from the files of the Red Room. I decided that we should take the boxes just incase we needed them for future reference or they contained any important information. I picked up two of the boxes and asked the others to help. Climbing the stairs, I realised that we didn't have much time. It was 6am currently and it would take 5 hours to get back to the base with Underwood, which only left us an hour to convince the Avengers Police that Maria was innocent. I wanted that more than anything. That thought made me step a little faster as I ran up the stairs. I saw the woman from earlier on the floor, seemingly knocked out.

"Is she dead?" I asked and Natasha raised her eyebrow.

"I think I remember your instructions to keep her alive." she answered and went to pick the body up, but Wanda just twirled her fingers and the man lifted into the air. Natasha smiled at the girls abilities.

"Nat, Sam. I need you two to help the others with the files. We need to get out of here as soon as possible." I said and quickly made my way out of the building, towards the jet. We got her. We actually got the woman who was pretending to be Black Death. I smiled slightly at our accomplishment as I loaded the boxes into the helicopter.

It had taken us five and a half hours to get from Underwood's location to the base, but it had taken us twenty minutes to load everything into the helicopter. We didn't have very long. We handcuffed Underwood into an interrogation room we had and I quickly went over her file before going into there to interview her.

"Miss Underwood?" I asked and she smiled fakely at me.

"That's me." she replied, a smug look on her face. She was feeling around for something in her teeth and I saw her face droop a little.

"Ah yes, the pill in your teeth. Taken out i'm afraid. We always know a HYDRA member."

"Maybe it's because I have one of those faces..." she said, smiling and crossing her legs over.

"Maybe it's because you killed 29 agents in cold blood..." I replied and opened up her file, getting no reply from her after that comment. I looked down at her hand and noticed the mole mark that was there. I flicked my eyes back to the file and read the information. "Rachel Underwood. Daughter of Dorothy "Dottie" Underwood, no history of father, but says that you were trained in a facility similar to the red room. Similar to the Black Widow."

"Don't compare me Romanoff." she said, spitting on the table. "She's a mongrel that turned good and pure, tagging along with the Avengers like some sort of good Samaritan." I tried not to take her words to heart, but I felt a pang in my chest from it. Natasha was a good friend and even though I knew her past, my opinion of her didn't change. She was still the strong, confident person that could take on anyone.

"Are you going to tell me why you did it?" I asked.

"Did what?" she asked, fake innocence filling her expression.

"Why you murdered all of those agents and impersonated Agent Hill..." I replied and she smirked.

"Who's Agent Hill?" she asked and I sighed, getting a little frustrated. Time was running out. We had just over an hour to get her to confess and I wasn't sure how this was going to work out. We needed her to comply, but it didn't look like she was going to.

 **Maria POV**

"Two minutes." one of the guards informed me and I sat up, not really knowing what to do with myself or where to put my hand or what to do, not that I had anything to do. It was going to be taken away from this cell to the execution room and my brain didn't seem to be registering it. All I could think about were the Avengers and how I missed them. I shut my eyes and relished my last moments of captivity before I was released into the world of death. _Remember me, Steve. Remember me._ I wanted him to remember me. I wanted to talk to him now. To tell him that it wasn't his fault. Peggy Carter had been left behind when he crashed into the ice and I knew, even though he wouldn't admit it, that he blamed himself for that. He blamed himself for everything.

"Time to go." the guard said and I heard the gate open. I pushed myself up gracefully and walked out of the cell, feeling like I should've taken something with me, but then realised that I had nothing to take from the cell. Walking down the corridor, my eyes noted the room titles, seeing them for the last time. It was sad to think that I would never see daylight again, never see the morning sun that woke me up and made me think about how beautiful the Earth was. Suddenly, I was grabbed by the arm and taken into a room, which looked rather like a doctor's surgery.

There was a medical table in the centre and I gulped at the site of it. _You're going to be fine._ I told myself as I felt my breaths get quicker in my lungs. _You're going to be fine..._ I was strapped in by my hands and I felt awfully exposed, even though I was in a prison outfit. The restraints made me feel a little claustrophobic and I felt my heartbeat rise. _This was it. This was my death._

I shut my eyes, blocking out all of the sounds around me. It was a technique I had learnt from the White Room. They always told us that zoning out our surroundings could help us focus on the real issues, but all I could think about was the team. I missed them dearly, too much. The silence filled my ears and all I felt was a pain in my arm from where the needle entered my skin. _Live well, Steve. Love someone worth dying for._ I told him in my head, him obviously not being able to hear it, but it comforted me. I wanted him to live a full and happy life.

 **Is this the end for Maria? Find out in the next chapter. Really enjoy reading your reviews. It truly is the highlight of my day, so please keep doing it. Hope you liked the Underwood reference to Agent Carter :P**


	23. Unexpected Company

**Previously:**

 **I shut my eyes, blocking out all of the sounds around me. It was a technique I had learnt from the White Room. They always told us that zoning out our surroundings could help us focus on the real issues, but all I could think about was the team. I missed them dearly, too much. The silence filled my ears and all I felt was a pain in my arm from where the needle entered my skin. _Live well, Steve. Love someone worth dying for._ I told him in my head, him obviously not being able to hear it, but it comforted me. I wanted him to live a full and happy life.**

I didn't feel anything at first, but then I felt the pain in my arm slowly fade away into nothingness. I opened my eyes, feeling a light drift over my eyes and I wondered whether I had gone to heaven or not, though I didn't believe in it.

I opened my eyes and saw a familiar scruffy blonde haired man above me. "Steve, am I in heaven now?"

He chuckled beautifully, as always, and shook his head. "I sure hope not." he said, not taking his eyes off mine. A few seconds went by and he cleared his throat, looking anywhere but my eyes. "Do you want to try sitting up?" he asked and I nodded. His warms hands came under my back and lifted my up to a sitting position, hugging me slightly at the same time. As I got to a sitting position, I turned round and allowed the bottom of my legs to hang free. He stayed hugging me for a moment before withdrawing his arms from my body.

I looked at him, noticing how attractive his beautiful blue eyes were under this lighting, before registering the people standing behind him. This wasn't the time to be thinking about my relationship with Steve. "Well...this is...unexpected company..." I told them and they all smiled, a little laugh escaping Wanda's lips, but I could tell from it that she was nervous. The laugh was on the way to a breakdown and I pushed myself off the bed to walk over and wrap my arms around her.

I heard her sniffle a moment and then felt a wet patch develop on my shoulder from her tears. "Thank God, you're still alive." she breathed.

"What the hell is going on?" one of the doctor's asked. I turned my shoulder to see him looking curiously at Fury who had interrupted the execution, Wanda removing her arms from me.

"Well, it appears that with some persuasion..." he said, looking at Wanda and then back to the doctor. "a HYDRA agent has admitted to impersonating Maria Hill and murdering 29 agents. Now, let us remove her from this station." he ordered and then some guards came into the room, each one standing with their arms clasped behind their backs. Fury's men. He always had agents even though he wasn't the Director anymore. Eyes and ears everywhere.

"Fine." the doctor said, gritting his teeth and stepping away from the bed I was sitting on only moments ago. I still held Wanda's shaking hand in mine as everyone apart from the Avengers, Fury and Fury's guards remained.

They all wore stupid oversized smiles on their faces and I nearly had the urge to roll my eyes at them, but decided not to as I hadn't seen them in five days, which didn't seem like a large amount of time thinking about it, but it sure felt like months on end. "So, you got her to talk?" I asked Wanda and she smiled sweetly at me, her smile causing the tear stains down her cheeks to reflect the lighting of the room.

"I had a good trainer." she replied and gave me a hug again. I felt her hands cling onto the back of my prison shirt tightly and hugged her back with the same firmness, ensuring her that I wasn't going anywhere. Finally, after what really did seem like months, she let go of me and I greeted the others in the room.

"Good to have you back, Hill." I next received a handshake from Fury, ever the formal man, though I could see the happiness through his eyes. I was more than a deputy to him, I was a friend. He needed someone like that I could tell. He just never wanted to admit it.

"Good to be back, Sir." I replied, letting go of his hand.

Vision turned to me, something different in his eyes and I almost forgot for a moment that he was in fact an android and not human. "Miss Hill, I have missed your leadership in the tower." _Well...at least he is trying to be human. Needs a dash more emotion, but I guess that that is the emotion you get when being an android._

"Have they been arguing?" I asked in a knowing fashion.

"You could say that." he said and I smiled at his humour, which reminded me too much of JARVIS.

"Please say they didn't treat you badly." Sam said and gave me a tight hug.

"Good as gold prison service apart from the good old push and shove." I told him, causing him to laugh.

Scott was standing next to him, smile gallivanting up his face. I laughed at his happiness and enveloped him in a hug. I went to his ear and whispered "Thank you for teaching me what a family means." I pulled back and he nodded at me.

"It was my pleasure." he replied and smiled softly.

"It makes me most excited to have you in our company again, Miss Hill."

"Thank you Thor." I replied and let him kiss my hand before Rhodey practically ran up and gave me a huge hug as well as a kiss on the head, which I appreciated. I never usually let people do that, but seeing as I had just literally escaped death I let it slide. Next up was Bruce who slowly walked towards me, pushing himself off the wall he was leaning against.

"Thank you for making me believe in myself yesterday..." I told him, remembering our conversation in the room when the guys were on the hospital mission retrieving data. _"I think you are forgetting who leads the Avengers there, Banner."_ I had told him.

 _"No, I'm not."_ he said, obviously referring to me. He thought I lead them and that made me smile. Not because of the power, but because I had earned his trust.

"Pleasure." he replied and let me out of the hug.

Steve was next. Even though I wanted to see Steve at the end, I knew that fate would never let me. I walked over to him slowly and just stood in front of him. His eyes flickered up to mine and his expression stayed neutral, making me wonder what he was thinking about. There was a moment of silence and tension in the room and I just wanted to throw my arms around him. His eyes were searching mine for something as I stepped a little close to him. After a moment, we wrapped our arms slowly and smoothly around each other, which made me cling onto him a little tighter. I felt the tension release from my chest and I sinked into his body, somehow moulding against him even though he was slightly taller than me.

I heard him sigh and closed my eyes, feeling the beat of his heart against my neck. We clung onto each other tightly and I knew that I had to let go now if I was ever going to let go at all. I slowly pulled my arms down his back, indicating that I was pulling away. He took the hint and released his arms from me too. I looked at his face, locking eyes with him as if I was caught in a trance. I felt a flutter in my chest, but ignored it, trying to focus on the moment.

"I missed you." he whispered, reaching out for my hands with his.

"I missed you too..." I whispered back, my breath a little ragged from the heavy breathing that had suddenly occured in my lungs.

"You scared me half to death..." he admitted, holding onto my hands a little tighter.

"I promise that I will try not to in the future." I smiled and he smiled back, laughing slightly.

"Please don't do it again." he added, a laugh resonating from his lips, but seriousness resonating from his eyes.

"I won't." I said, shaking my head slowly.

I gave him a small slow smile before turning my head to Natasha. She raised an eyebrow as I dropped my hands from Steve's. "What?" I asked her, walking towards her, arms spreading out for her to give me a hug.

"I hate hugging." she said, placing her hands delicately onto my back.

"Oh, I know you do..." I smiled and the group chuckled.

"You look horrendous in prison clothes by the way." Tony said and I slipped out of Natasha's arms and into his.

"Thanks." I said, sarcastically as he held me tighter than I had expected. Tony had been so rude in the past, calling me the names and stuff, but he did have a caring side. Pepper was a prime example of that. He held me in the hug for at least 10 seconds before releasing me so I could move onto the last person in the room who had remained quite for a while.

"Clint..." I sighed walking up to him slowly. His eyes blinked slowly and I could see the bags underneath them. He must've been searching all night bless him. "Oh Clint..." I said and continued walking to him until I reached under his arms to wrap my arms around his back, almost needing to take his weight onto me.

"I'm so glad you are alive..." he whispered and hugged me, a firm grip somewhere underneath the weak hug that was probably from a lack of sleep.

"Yeah...me too..." I replied, pushing my head into his shoulder slightly. "Nat, please tell me you have been taking care of this one?" I asked her, facing away from Clint's ear so my voice didn't deafen him.

"Let's just say he was definitely determined to get you back." she replied and I pulled away from Clint. I rested my hands on the side of his face and he smiled at me.

"I would've gone insane if you had died."

"Even Nat wouldn't have been able to pull me back from that."

"Hey!" she interjected, putting on a pouting expression and he shrugged, a smile hinting at his lips.

"Okay, she probably would've." he said, which made Natasha's smile grow and her pout dissipate. I stroked his cheeks and kissed him lightly on the forehead.

"I'm going to let Natasha take care of you, okay? Which means sleep. Understand?" I asked and he nodded, chuckling slightly.

"You're the best." he replied and I nodded.

"Suuuuurreee buddy..." I said and passed him over to Nat who took him away. I exited the execution room, only taking a glance back at it to look at the bed that could've been where I died, before moving through the corridors to the exit. Fury walked in step with me and I looked back to see Steve speaking with James about something.

"So how did you manage to get here on time? I mean, it was pretty close. The needle was in my arm." I said and his paced slowed down for a moment.

"The needle entered your arm?" he asked, looking down at the arm which the liquid was going to be injected into.

"Yeah. Why?" I asked, getting a little worried about it.

"It should be fine, but if you feel any pain then tell us immediately. Usually the liquid takes effect straight away, so you should've felt it if it was in your system, but we will check in the helicopter on the way back."

I raised my eyebrows. "You guys all fit in one helicopter."

"It's rather a big helicopter." he replied as we arrived at the entrance way to the building. _That was one big helicopter..._

"You weren't joking." I told him and entered the helicopter. As soon as I got inside, I saw Pepper, Coulson and Jess standing there with two others scientists that I recognised as Fitzsimmons from the new S.H.I.E.L.D. I smiled as I was immediately taken into an embrace from Pepper and Jessica.

"Thank God you-"

"We were so-"

"alive. I don't know-"

"worried about you and-"

"what we would've done if-"

"we missed you so-"

"you hadn't come back an-"

"GUYS!" I half-shouted, trying to get them to stop babbling, even though I did kind of enjoy seeing them that way. "Just relax." I said and settled more comfortably into their generous hug. We all retracted our arms after a moment and I saw Coulson standing there, arms crossed over his chest.

"Miss me?" he asked, throwing his arms up questioningly.

"Of course." I replied and threw my arms around his neck. "I've missed you too much." I said and he laughed before releasing his hold on me.

"Agent Hill?" Simmons asked and I turned to them.

"Ah, Fitzsimmons isn't it?" I asked both of them and they turned to each other, a little flare of red boiling up in their cheeks.

"Fitz." the man said, waving his hand.

"Simmons." the woman smiled.

"I'm engineering, she's biochem." he explained to me normally as if it were a routine that they did.

"It's good to see that you are back on Earth, Simmons." I said, smiling at her slightly.

"Happy to be home, Agent Hill." she replied.

"Please, just call me Hill. It's fine." I said and they looked at each other smiling, as if it were such a privilege. "And I know who you both are. Very good work by the way. Two of the smartest minds I have seen, just don't tell Stark that." I said, smiling.

"Well, Ag-" she had to stop herself and smile. "Miss Hill," she said, nodding at the two words. "Thank you very much. On a separate note, Fury has already informed me that there may be some of the serum still in your system. Please may we check?" she asked politely and I nodded, sitting down on a chair next to the medical table.

I looked over at the other Avengers boarding the helicopter and my eyes stopped on Steve. He was talking to Scott and Sam now, but he stopped when his eyes landed on me after they had finished searching for me. He smiled and I returned his smile before he was hit in the head by Sam, newspaper in his hand. Steve chuckled slightly, waved goodbye to me and followed the others down a corridor, a light blush on his cheeks.

I smiled to myself and looked back at the arm Fitz was studying. They were both looking up at me and then back to the corridor and then back at me. "What?" I asked and they shook their heads.

"Nothing." they said, simultaneously. I could see why Coulson said he was worried about them getting too close. They seemed perfectly in sync with everything they did.

"I order you to tell me." I said, taking on an authoritative voice. Fitz starred at Simmons warning her not to tell me, but I could see Simmons caving. I gave her an evil glare, which finally pushed her over the edge.

"Well..." she began, hesitating for a moment before continuing. "There have been a few rumours circulating. You know how rumours circulate. Happens all the time. Of course, no one believes them an-"

"Simmons?" I said, holding up my free hand as Fitz attended to the other. "Just tell me the rumour already." I said, feeling a pain in my arm as Fitz injected the needle to check my blood.

"There are...some people who are under the impression that you and the Captain Rogers" she said, nodding to the corridor. "are an item." she admitted, pushing her hands together as if expecting something dreadful to happen. Thinking about it, I hadn't spoken with Steve about it yet for obvious reasons - me being arrested and in prison and all - and I didn't know where he stood on the terms of our relationship.

"Me and Steve are just friends, similar to the way I am friends with all the other Avengers." The pair of scientists smiled at me at the same time and they weren't even looking at each, which freaked me out a bit.

"Okay." Simmons answered simply, a sweet innocent smile on her face. I was going to ask about their curious behaviour, but Fitz spoke first.

"Hmm...let's just have a quick look at these results then..." he said, swiping and tapping the screen to bring up my results. He swiped the data across and brought up a hologram of some of my cell. He zoomed in on a couple and reported back. "Yep, there are no traces of any virus. Congratulations." he smiled and brought the hologram down. "You are going to be fine, Miss Hill." he smiled and I sat up, smiling at them.

"Thank you very much." I told them and got off of the chair I was sat on.

"It's a pleasure." Simmons said, smiling.

"Until next time." I nodded at them and left to go and find the other Avengers. I just wanted to relax but I walked into the living room and found Steve and Tony arguing about something. As soon as I entered, their heads flipped across to me and they ceased their conversation, though everyone looked peeved about it.

"Hill..." he said, picking up a glass and handing it to me. "I believe congratulations are in order."

Pepper rolled her eyes. "Any excuse for you to drink."

"At least we are as a full team once more." Thor said, raising his glass. I wondered for a moment whether they had any tradition when making a toast to someone, but I figured that he didn't seeing as no drinks were smashing on the floor.

"To the team." Rhodey said, raising his glass too. We all followed suit and raised our glasses. Noticing Steve's eyes upon me, I smiled and raised my glass a little higher at him. He smiled back and did the same as we all said "TO THE TEAM!"

We took a sip of champagne and I let my eyes sink into my head. "Mmm...five days with disgusting prison food. I think i'm in heaven right now."

"Nothing but the best for our new member." Sam smiled. "Right, i'm going to get some sleep. I am shattered." he said and exited with his glass to another area of the helicopter as it began to take off. Natasha and Clint weren't here so I had guessed that they had gone up to a room too. There was an upstairs on this helicopter!

"I'm pretty tired too. Pep, you coming?" Tony asked and Pepper nodded.

"I think we should all get some rest." Steve said to the team and I felt their inner sighs at his offer. "We all need it." he said, his eyes remaining on me longer than anyone else.

"Best news I've heard all day." Wanda sighed walking out of the room, Vision following on her tail. The group followed and I waited for them to file out, me and Steve being the last to leave. I waited a moment before beginning to walk out of the room, but before I even got to the door a hand took my wrist softly. I spun round and saw Steve's face looking down at me. I studied his features, registering every little detail like I did the first time I looked upon his God-like face.

I observed his blonde-brown hair at first, spiking forward slightly, but not like the modern day teenagers that spike it forward in a Jedward fashion. It was natural and I loved the way it felt so smooth in my hands, almost as if it were made to be handled by human hands. Those ruby red lips on his face standing out from his smooth skin. I missed them pressing against mine. The thought of it caused me to bite my lip slightly. His jaw was shaped to slice glass and I would run my finger across it just to get cut. He had these innocent blue eyes that always revealed his emotions even though he wanted to keep them hidden in his mind. I could read him like a book because of that. His eyes revealed everything about him.

My lips lifted up into a small smile and I looked at him slightly curious as to why he stopped me leaving. "The rooms are all together up there and I thought we could have a moment to talk, unless you are tired of course." he said politely. I smiled at his gentlemanly manner and slid my wrist out of his hand.

"Of course." I replied and shut the doors to the room, wobbling only slightly due to the helicopter's motion. To be perfectly honest, it was more of a helicarrier, because it had so many rooms, but it had the control panel of a helicopter, so a helicopter it remained named as. I locked the doors and went to sit down on the sofa overlooking the view. It had to be screwed into the floor to stay still along with all the other pieces of furniture.

We sat down, the sofa cushioning me perfectly. It made me want to curl into it because of the days spent on that horrible bed in the cell. I looked up at the ceiling and instead of a grey one, I saw a white one. The colour change made me smile slightly. "Is something up with the ceiling?" he asked, curious about the smile across my face.

"It's just..." I began, looking across to him. "back to normal. At last."

"I'm glad it is." he sighed and leant back against the sofa. I did the same and shut my eyes, relaxing into the cushions.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't keep you if you are tired." he said, beginning to get up. I caught his arm and he slowly fell back on the sofa next to me.

"I'm not tired." I told him, grins starting on our faces. "I'm just relaxing."

"Relaxing?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, relaxing. It's much better than lying on a bed doing nothing all day." I told him and his smile faltered slightly, his eyes taking the biggest dip of all.

"You're okay now aren't you?" he asked, worried. He wanted to reassure himself that I was okay. _Of course he does, it's Steve for goodness sakes_.

I nodded, our faces staring at each other like they had last week on my living room sofa. I missed that room. I stared into his eyes, the blue orbs almost hypnotising me to not look away. "I'm fine." I told him.

"Are you sure?" he asked and before he could say another word I grabbed his shirt and slowly pulled him towards me. I smiled slightly before touching my lips to his, inhaling his scent, loving the smell that was him. _Finally._ I missed it when I was locked in prison.

My breath caught when we kissed, like it had the very first time we did, and I felt his shallow breaths against my lips also. He pressed his lips more forcefully against mine and let myself get sweeped up into his movements. His fingers touched my hands that was resting against my leg and I flinched for a moment from surprise before I let his hand clasp mine. He squeezed it tightly and I let a giggle escape from my lips as I felt electricity run through my body from his touches.

We both pulled away and looked at each other, taking in the surrealism of the moment. We stared for what seemed like ages at each other. I lay on his chest, reconnecting myself with his scent, and smiled. "How have the past few days been for you then?" I asked, putting my palm next to my face, drawing circles with my fingers.

"Stressful. Probably the most stressful few days of my life. There have been a few...mishaps between us." He said, getting quieter towards the end, and my hand stopped at the change.

"Mishaps? Between who?" I asked suspiciously. I looked up at him, resting my chin on his chest, and he sighed.

"Mainly between me and Tony." He said, switching his gaze to the door that he had left out of earlier. "We haven't been on the best of terms for a while actually."

"Something I should be worried about?"

"Nothing for you to worry about at all. It will all work out in the end." He said, looking back to me. "Avengers are a team to be reckoned with. A bit of reckoning in the ranks is nothing unusual. It will be fine."

"Let hope it will be..." I replied and put my head back.

"What about you? Feel good to be back?" He asked and I gripped onto him a little tighter than before.

"I never want to leave again..."

"I don't want you to either." He replied and sighed again. "I'm very upset about the treatment you've received. Natasha told me what happened when she visited." I shuffled my head against his chest and sighed before he spoke up again. "I don't think of them in the same way..."

"Who? The government?" I asked and he nodded.

"They treated you terribly and I don't think of them in the same way anymore." he told me, his voice wavering a bit.

"Me neither. I thought the government did things the right way." I said and shut my eyes. "They are still hiding things from us. How are we supposed to trust them if they hide things?"

"One day, we are going to have an argument with them." he said, shaking his head. "It's going to end in a war. I can feel it."

"Well," I said, looking up at his face and stroking his chest, trying to distract him. "Don't think about that right now."

"What _should_ I do then?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I have a good idea." I said and he smiled at me before we both reached forward to kiss each other slowly, soaking up each other's presence. Man, he was a good kisser. He added just the right of pressure to drive me crazy and I had to have a lot of restraint not to go wild with him, not that it stopped me having those kinds of thoughts. His hands travelled up my sides and round my back, settling on the skin of my lower back, his warm hands relaxing my nerves. Our kisses were desperate and breathy, my hands exploring over the top of his shirt and grabbing fistfuls of it when I felt frustrated at the fact that we had too many clothes on.

Suddenly, I pulled away and he looked up at me confused. "Have I done something?" he asked, his hands withdrawing slowly from my back to settle on my hips, the warmth from them making my heart flutter.

"You haven't done anything..." I said, looking into his eyes. _Be confident with this!_ "If we are going any further then you need to know something." I said to him. I decided that I was going to be straight and factual. I felt like that was what he deserved.

"What is it?" he said, looking at me with a mix of confusion and worry.

"On my stomach," I said, pointing to the spot just below my bra. "there is a mark. When HYDRA took over, during the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D, I was taken for a section of time." I told him, swallowing the ball of emotions that was building in my throat. "I was tortured for information that Fury was keeping that wasn't put onto the files, which I had expected if something like this were to happen, because I was Fury's second in command." He shook his head and I brought my hands up to stop him from doing so. "Steve you can't-"

"Blame myself? Well, I do." he said, staring into my eyes. "I should've gotten to you quicker."

"You were in hospital." I told him and he sighed, looking down at the ground. I shut my eyes. "So will it be a problem?" I asked him.

I felt two warm hands clasp the sides of my face and I opened my eyes to see Steve staring up at me. "Are you kidding? Of course not. I'll always feel the same way about you. Scars or no scars. It's not going to change how I think about you." he told me, almost poetically, and I smiled down at him.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"I am completely and utterly crazy about you." he said, pressing a long hard kiss against my lips. "Nothing is going to change that." he said, whispering the words against my lips which drove me even more crazy than before. He surged forward, kissing me with more force than I was expecting and I let his hands hold my head as he laid me down on the sofa. He was placed in between my legs and I wrapped them around the back of him, causing him to growl slightly. _Wow..._ I made the decision that I definitely liked that noise coming from him. It wasn't possessive, but more like it made me feel wanted. If anything it made me feel in control.

I felt the blush off of his cheeks from the noise that he made and the hesitation he had after doing it, so I thought the best way to deal with this was to show him it was good. I held him close and whispered "Shirt...off...now..." in his ear. He kissed my neck and I groaned, my hips pushing upwards involuntarily and he moaned at me doing so. He kissed along my jaw as I hooked my fingers around the bottom of his shirt and pulled it slowly up his chest. He pulled away, grabbed the shirt and peeled it off the top of his body, leaving his chest on full display.

 _Oh wow..._ "That...that's...v-very...um..." I began and he chuckled slightly at me. I gave up on responding with words and decided to go back to kissing him. His hands travelled down my sides to the base of my shirt and wandered upwards on my skin, slowly dragging the shirt upwards too. Just as the more intense moment was about to happen, a knock sounded at the door.

Me and Steve stopped mid-kiss and opened our eyes at each other. "I hate that person at the door so much." I said.

"Me too." he replied.

"Next time, we need to make sure we are away from the rest of civilisation."

"Well, I have an apartment in Brooklyn now?" he suggested and I turned my head at him. _He was inviting me to his?_ My stomach pretended not to have butterflies going round in it, but there were fireworks exploding in there. I was about to respond with a gigantic, over-excited 'YES!', but there was another knock at the door.

"We should...probably get that." I told him and he nodded, pushing himself off of me, his muscles fortunately needing to flex to do so. I picked up his shirt and handed it to him, smiling as I enjoyed him take it and pull it back on. Once he was dressed, I put my hands to his face quickly and kissed his lightly before going towards the door, smoothing down my hair a bit. I turned and walked to answer the door.

 **Hope you liked the chapter! If you did then please review! Can't wait to continue this! Please tell me if you want to include anything! :)**


	24. Four Letters

**This is going to be slightly upsetting because I talk about death and pointlessness, but you know it's all going on in Maria's head.**

 **THIS IS CONTINUING INTO CIVIL WAR! REPEAT! THIS IS CONTINUING INTO CIVIL WAR! Can't wait for it! Look on the behind the scenes footage to see some unseen clips.**

After eating and spending some time sleeping in my bed (without Steve, because I wanted to spend some time with myself and my thoughts), I was spoken to by JARVIS. "Miss Hill, your presence is required in Mr. Stark's lab." he informed me. I stopped making myself a drink of water and placed the glass on the side.

"I'll be down in a moment." I told him and exited the room. _Why would Stark need to talk to me?_ I walked past the sofa, where Steve was doing a drawing something in his sketch book. I snuck quietly up behind him and wrapped my arms around his shoulders tightly.

"Security lock down." I told him and he laughed, shutting his notebook before I could see what he was drawing and kissed one of my forearms.

"Hey, where are you going?" he asked and turned around when I loosened my arms.

"Just down to Tony's lab. He wants me for something. I have no idea." I told him and he smiled.

"I'll join you." he said and walked around the sofa, joining his hand with mine when he got to me. I smiled at the small touch he gave me. It still sent pleasurable chills up my spine even though we did this often. We got to the elevator and he put a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

"You feeling better after your sleep?" he asked and I nodded, looking over at him and the elevator took us down.

"Much better thank you. I'm so glad I had you guys looking out for me." I replied, putting my head against his shoulder.

"Well, I wasn't just going to give up." he said, squeezing my hand slightly and putting his head on top of mine. "You mean a lot to me, you know." he added and I smiled.

"Same here." I replied and we took the rest of the journey in silence. We hadn't told each other that we loved each other, but I thought love was a funny word. How are you supposed to tell who you are in love with or not? Steve was amazing, don't get me wrong, but where was this going to go? I can't imagine being without him. Had he had this going through his head to or was I just going mad? Who knows? He's from the 1940's and I know they had different rules then... _maybe I should research this?_ I thought to myself.

I was about to ask how he was doing, but the elevator doors opened, revealing Stark's lab.

I cautiously walked into the lab holding hands with Steve to meet with Tony. I saw him working at one of the desks, using a solder iron to change one of his little designs.

"Problem?" I asked, breaking my hand hold with Steve and pushing my hands against the work surface opposite Tony.

He looked up, stopping his experimentation and putting the solder iron in it's holder. I noticed his eyes drift up to look at Steve, sharpening them a little when their eyes linked. I was worried about them. I hoped that it was only a temporary fight between them, because we weren't going to be able to function as a team otherwise. His eyes lightened when they returned to me.

"No problem at all actually. The complete opposite. If you would like to follow me." He said, leading us over to a control panel on the wall. He tapped a few buttons and the wall slid open revealing a suit in a glass case.

It was such an elegant design. The colour of black and white was definitely Tony's doing. It was combat material, like Natasha's. For some reason every has the idea that superhero costume are leather and spandex. I walked towards it slowly, observing all the little features of the costume.

I could see the little pockets on the sides of the torso and some sneaky knife holders, as well as a gun holster on the right thigh. It was not like I imagined. I imagine it like Natasha's outfit but it looked so different. There were thin white lines flowing round the costume and I smiled at it.

I walked around the mannequin it was placed on and noticed a couple of holders on the back of the suit where the shoulder blades were.

"What are these for?" I asked pointing at the back of the suit.

Steve moved to come and join me in looking at the addition, but Tony just smiled from his work station.

"That is the Captains design input." He replied and walked past me to stand at the wall behind me. He tapped and a keypad came up. He typed in a password and the door slid open.

"...oh my goodness..." A shield? I get my own shield? "Is this...is this for-"

"For you?" Steve asked and I looked up at him smiling.

"You did this?" I asked and he shrugged.

"Maybe..." He replied, a blush faintly brushed across his cheeks. "Here." He said and picked up the shield, a little clicking noise sounding at the detachment of it.

He took my right wrist and weaves my arm through the strap. It felt a little loose and I looked over at Stark, about to speak up about it, but he put his finger up.

"Just a second..." He said and I suddenly felt a mild tightening on the strap so that they were secure on my arm. "Comfortable?" He asked and I smiled at him.

"Perfect." I replied and traced my hand round the edge of the shield, admiring the colour of it. I looked up at Tony. "What's it made out of?"

"Vibranium." he answered, a smug manner about his tone.

"But how-"

"There was some left after Ultron invaded. Last of it for real this time." he said, sitting back down at his table. "You two kids can go test it out if you want to."

"Really? This soon?" I asked, feeling excited. I looked at Steve with an embarrassingly wide and happy grin, which made me cringe inside, but he just smiled at me. "It'll get you out of my hair anyway." Tony added and began a piece if machinery up, making an awful lot of noise.

I took that as a cue to leave and took the suit and shield off of their hooks. Steve took the shield and smiled at me. We walked towards the elevator and I pressed the button. I saw Steve glimpse back at Tony and clench his jaw slightly. I need an explanation for this...

"What was that about?" I asked as soon as we got into the elevator. He shut his eyes and exhaled.

"Me and Tony...we haven't been getting along all that well recently." he said, trying to make it sound lighter than it actually was.

"You practically didn't talk to each other back there. What's really going on?" He sighed and rubbed his eyebrow with his hand, stress filling his features. I was getting worried about him now. Was everything okay? "Steve, please answer me. Has something happened?"

He shook his head. "Nothing's _happened."_ he said, putting emphasis on the 'happened'.

"But something is going to happen?" I asked and he sighed, looking over to me.

"I'm not sure...it might." he said and placed a hand on his shoulder, rubbing it comfortingly.

"What is it?" I asked and he smiled sadly.

"There may be...a law being put in place." he stated.

"And...why is that a problem? What law is it?"

He looked out the window at the grass fields outside. "It's going to be called the 'Superhuman Registration Act'." he said.

"The Superhuman Registration Act? Sounds like we're all going to be registering for prison." I joked and he showed a small smile. This was obviously a serious matter that got to him.

"They think we can no longer be separate and do our own thing. They want us under their orders." he said, half gritting his teeth.

"You don't think we should be under their control." I concluded and he nodded. "I agree." I found myself saying to him. I was fed up with the government interfering with us trying to save the world.

He looked at me with happiness, yet slightly surprised. "You agree? I thought you would be with the government."

"They locked me away and were going to kill me, because they didn't want to listen to the truth. We had to wave it in front of their faces to make them stop and they weren't going to do a fair trial, so who else knows what they have been hiding from us?" I reasoned and he nodded.

"They do keep too many secrets. At least we are open about everything here. We're supposed to be different from S.H.I.E.L.D." he added and I nodded. How could the registration act go ahead? Surely the rest of the Avengers would be against it too.

"I would've thought Tony would be against it." I replied. "He is always wanting to resist the government. He hardly does what he is told now." I said and we laughed.

"Well, Tony is Tony..." he began with a light tone. However, his tone went serious as he thought more about it. "But he wants to be in line with the government."

"Do the other Avengers know?" I asked and he shook his head.

"Just me and Tony. And well you...I wasn't meant to say anything, but I didn't want to keep anything from you."

"Which probably means that Pepper and Bruce know too..." I said and then kissed his cheek. "Thanks for telling me anyway." I told him and he blushed slightly. It was nice to have that affect on him and it made him look so adorable.

"That's alright." he replied and smiled. I smirked back at him and leaned closer. I pressed a long kiss against his lips and smiled as I pulled back. Our faces ended up, only a few centimetres apart, and I noticed the smile drifting up his face. I leaned in to get a taste of his luscious lips again, but the ping of the elevator interrupted us. We laughed and I shoved his shoulder. "Come on." I smiled and walked out of the elevator.

I walked into the training room, happy that no one was in there for my first trial. I squeezed my hand around the strap and rotated the shield, getting used to the weight of it in my hand.

"So how does this work?" I asked, realising that I didn't even know how to use the shield. Tony just told me to try it out, so that's what I was going to do.

"The shield knows when you are going to through it. The momentum of swinging it and the release of your hand adjusts the straps so the shield doesn't get in the way of your hand. The shield is thrown and you can just call it back by pressing the magnet button." He answered, pointing on my arm.

"So I just..." I said, swinging my arm in a mocking fashion. I ended up falling forward slightly. _Wow! That is pretty light!_

"Yeah, I had to get used to it too." he told me and smiled. I had a few practise swings in my hand, just getting used to the feel of it. I noticed Steve observing me from the corner of the room and smiled slightly.

"What are you smiling at?"

"What are _you_ looking at?" I shot back and walked over to him. Actually, as I 'walked' over I realised in my head that it was more like a strut. He quickly looked me up and down, taking extra care not to stare at one place for too long, and flicked back to my eyes as soon as I was over to him.

"You seem amused." he whispered, placing a hand on my hip. I tensed the muscles in my stomach slightly from his touch and tried not to move my hips closer to him.

" _You_ seem distracted." I said as his arm moved around my back. Subconsciously, I licked my lips and drifted my eyes down his face to his lips.

"I'm not the only one it seems." he said and drifted forward towards me. Kissing Steve was becoming a frequent thing, not that I was complaining about that factor at all. Kissing him was like letting loose all the stresses in your life. I didn't care about the fact that him and Tony were arguing or the fact that I still needed to talk with Fury or the problem that half of the tower hates me. All of my worries just drifted away. I didn't view Steve as a distraction of course, I viewed him as a luxury, which sounds awfully snobby, but it's true. We don't need relationships in our lives, but we indulge in them. And I love that.

What started off as mild kissing led to harsh and wet kisses that made the pit of my stomach grow warm. I pushed him up against the wall and his hands roamed my body. _God damn, how the hell did he get this confident?_ Next thing I knew, he was grabbing my ass and pushing me against the wall. I let out a small moan and even though we were together, I still blushed from making the sound. I wrapped my legs around his back and weaved one of my hands through his hair, the other, containing the shield, pressed against his back. He groaned slightly and I raised my eyebrows in surprise, still kissing him all the while. Him moaning was like music to my ears. Suddenly realising that we were in the gym, practically groping each other, came into perspective and I considered the fact that someone could walk in.

I took a firm hold of the shield and pressed it into his back slightly until he drew his lips away. "Hey!" he complained, but smiled.

"I. Need. To. Train." I told him, kissing him in between each word. He groaned, annoyed at me this time. "I preferred the other groan if i'm being honest." I said, not registering the words before they slipped out of my mouth. He opened his mouth and flushed red in embarrassment, but I just giggled at him. His eyes flicked all over the place as he put me down on the ground again.

"S-sorry..." he said and I rolled my eyes at him, throwing the shield by my shield. I grabbed his shirt, shoved him up against the wall, to which he looked at me shocked, and forced my lips on his. I attacked his mouth violently, our gasping breaths being heard between each kiss. I grabbed his hands, that were wrapped around my neck and slid them down my body until they were planted firmly on my ass.

I pulled away to see his slightly bewildered face and smiled before kissing him softly on the lips. "Nothing to be sorry for." I told him and reached down to pick up the shield. I strapped it round my forearm and smiled to myself as he walked over.

"You are evil." he teased and placed a kiss into my hair. I giggled and gripped the strap a bit tighter.

"So come on, 40's boy. How do I do this?" I asked, lifting the shield slightly.

"Thanks for the nickname." he dead-panned and touched my shoulder. "What you are going to do is imagine you are hitting a tennis ball."

"A tennis ball?" I asked, surprised. "What happened to it being a frisbee?"

"Stark insists on calling it that, not me." he smiled and his hand glided down my arm making me shudder slightly. He bent down to my ear and whispered into it "You just need to bring your arm back and keep focused on the target. Got it?" he asked and kissed just under my ear. I laughed and gripped the shield tighter if that were even possible.

He stepped back and I looked at the target. Imagining the face of Fury kind of gave me a little focus and I decided to imagine him as the target. "Don't be annoyed if you don't hit the target first time." he told me, probably knowing that I wouldn't listen anyway.

I tried a few practise swings before exhaling and focusing on the target. _Like a tennis ball_ I repeated in my head and just went for it. I released the shield from my hand, feeling the strap loosen as it flew by me. I felt the wind brush my hair behind me and I thought for a second that I may have thrown it a little hard. I looked directly at the point of impact and realised that I had hit the target board. I smiled and looked at Steve for assessment. It wasn't a direct hit, but at least I hit the board. It was hit at a diagonal and I felt a little disappointed at the failure to hit it straight on, but it was still my first try at it.

"Very good." he said and kissed me on the cheek. He ran to get my shield - 'my shield'. I liked the sound of that - and took it out of the target. "The catch needs to be strong okay? Both feet, balanced weight. Catch with both hands and bring around the side of the stomach." he informed me and I nodded, holding my hands up to show that I was prepared.

He threw it and I reached my hands out to catch it. I first felt the cold vibranium skim my fingertips and slide down the surface of my hands, hitting my palm surprisingly lightly. I felt the motion of it and flowed with it, bringing the shield round the side of my body and ending in a slight squat position with the shield in my hands. I smiled to myself at my achievement and, sure enough, Steve was smiling too when he came over and kissed my forehead. "You are a natural at this." he complimented and I blushed.

"Well, i've seen you in practise and just noted how you use the shield in battle."

"You've been watching me?" he asked with a sly smirk.

"Shut up..." I said, nudging his shoulder. He chuckled and we went back to throwing the shield at the target. We practised for about half an hour before I felt my arms ache badly and I had to stop.

"Okay, okay." I told him, waving my hands around. "I need to stop." I told him and lay down on the floor, more like slumped down on the floor actually.

"You've done well." he said, looking up at the shield planted firmly straight in the target.

"Thanks." I smiled and he sat down next to me. I lifted up my arm and pressed the button on my suit. Sure enough the shield came flying back onto my arm and I rested it next to me on the side that Steve wasn't sitting on. I stared at it, the simple design that made the weapon so elegant.

I turned my head back to Steve and smiled. He smiled back and I looked up to the ceiling. I took a minute to let my mind wander back...back a few months ago when the world was in danger. I was definitely entering the deeper thoughts of my mind. Sokovia cost over 150 lives and I thought about how we needed to protect everyone... _but who's going to protect us._ The shield I had been given just brought to my mind the idea of people needing protection, of us needing protection. I wasn't a God like Thor or Steve, hell I hardly considered myself a normal human being, but we all need protection.

Too many deaths. Too many people have died in this lifetime. Pietro's dead. Wanda is absolutely heart-broken over it sometimes that I'm surprised Vision can help her to stay optimistic. It's hard to forget someone who gave you so much to remember. How are we supposed to know how to protect everyone? Stark went too far. He created Ultron, a killing machine. Sure, not intentionally, but why didn't he run full diagnostics? What an idiot! Why can't the killing just stop? It never stops does it! It just keeps happening! Over and over and over! Why can't it just stop!

Protection can't save us from all the threats in the world. There are too many. How are we meant to stop everyone from dying?

Sometimes I feel afraid.

I feel afraid that someone is going to wipe up out. 'Extinction' as Ultron put it correctly. One day, we'll all be gone. There will always be protection, but will it be enough? Will it be enough to save everyone? What if it isn't? Are we meant to go on without people to protect us? I get worried sometimes. I'm worried Steve's going to die or Natasha or Clint or Coulson or any of them. I felt my chest ache in pain at the thought of being here without them. We're not going to survive. Not any of us. We are all going to die and there is nothing we can do about it.

I always had the belief that being alone means that you can hurt nobody. Now I just want to feel important to someone. To Steve.

"What's wrong?" a small voice asked from my left side. I looked towards the voice and saw Steve's eyes gazing into mine, a solemn look cast upon his face. He reminded me of everything good right now, in this moment. Everything that hasn't gone wrong yet. Everything that was just perfect. "What is it?" he asked again and placed his hands on my cheek, wiping my skin with his thumb. I felt a cool breeze spread over my face and I only then realised that I was crying. And then I took a second and really breathed in the air around me, the feeling of his thumb spreading across my cheek and the silence in the room as we lay next to each other, completely content with each other's company.

"Nothing." I replied. Because nothing was wrong. Everything I was thinking about wasn't happening in these moments. These moments were ours to keep. No one was getting in the way of them.

"Are you sure? You seem pretty upset." he said, continuing to brush my cheek.

"Crying with happiness." I half-lied. I was happy, but that wasn't why I was crying. I didn't want him to leave me. But I knew we all had a job to do. S.H.I.E.L.D brought me up with that ideology, so I had to stick with it.

"What about?" he asked, curious why I was so happy.

I smiled at him, making sure that my lips didn't quiver as I did, and kissed his lips delicately. "You." I said and blinked away a few tear drops on my eyelashes. "I'm so happy with you."

He took a few seconds to process what I was saying before smiling faintly. He linked his arm underneath me and pulled me towards him so that I was slightly on top of him, hugging him with my arm across his chest. "You're not going to lose me." he whispered and kissed my forehead. "I'm happy with you too. I've never been happier." he continued and I smiled against his chest.

I pulled him closer and he held me tightly. In that moment, I realised...I never wanted to lose him. It would break me if I did. "I think I'm in love with you." I blurted. _What!_ I immediately sat up and slapped a hand over my mouth. "Sorry..." I said, my voice muffled slightly through my hand.

He slowly sat up and stared at me, not shocked but not happily. I couldn't get a read on him _at all!_ _Shit!_ I thought. _What the hell have I just done? I've probably scared him away now!_ I have never said that I love someone apart from Coulson. He was a father to me, so I felt that he earned that right to be loved by me. No one else though. Just him and Steve. I smiled at him and tried to explained. "P-please don't be angry..." I said and he crinkled his eyebrows in the cute way that I love.

"Why would I be angry?" he asked and I shrugged. "How long have you felt like this?" he asked.

"I think um..." To be totally honest, I had no idea. I mean, I've felt no different than when I first met him, but it just felt right to say. I wondered whether I had loved him all this time, but then realised that that was ridiculous. I sighed and looked at the ground. "I don't know. It just felt right to say to you." I explained. _Damn it, now i've screwed things up._

I felt a warm set of fingers touch my chin and pull my head up slightly. I met Steve's beautiful blue eyes that made my entire body tingle. He slowly pulled my head forward so that our lips were touching. "I think I'm in love with you too." he whispered and I gasped before he slowly captured my lips in a feather-light kiss. I closed my eyes and felt the warmth of his lips touch mine. I let all my senses loose and just enjoyed the movement of him kissing me.

We quickly began to kiss more passionately and I reached to the back of his head to tug at the hairs there. The lust of the kiss just made me realise how badly I wanted him. I rolled onto him and pinned him down on the ground. We were almost fighting each other through the kiss, but if it was any type of fighting then it was play fighting. I loved our connection and how wild we could get.

Suddenly, I was spun around so I was on the floor and I smiled as Steve went in to kiss my cheeks. I giggled as he did so, but when he began to kiss down my neck I started panting and gripped onto his hair a little tighter. "Steve..." I whispered and he worked his way back up my neck to my lips. Our lips crashed against each other and I felt the passion build up between us. Our bodies pushed against each other, which just made me want to feel his skin closer to mine. I reached up and began to undo his shirt buttons but he caught my hands.

I opened my eyes and pulled back a few centimetres. "Steve?" I asked, wondering why he stopped.

"I can't."

"Why can't you?" I asked. He was about to speak, but I stopped him. "Wait...do you love someone else? Is it Peggy?" I said, quickly getting off of him and standing up.

"No, of course not." he said, rising to my level to take my hands. "Peggy was way back in the 1940's okay. She's moved on with her life and so have I." he told me and I nodded, believing him. I could just tell by his voice that he was telling the truth. If he was telling the truth, he would talk about something passionately, like he cared about something too much. "I just...I want to take you out on a date first." he said, a blush rising on his cheeks and I smiled at his adorable confession.

"You really are an old-fashioned man aren't you..." I teased, smiling up at him. He scowled playfully and kissed me on the nose.

"I just want to treat you right." he admitted and I couldn't help but pull him into a hug.

"Thank you." I whispered and placed a kiss on his neck.

"For what? I haven't done anything."

I shook my head. "For everything that you've done." I told him and held him closer. "Just...thank you." I repeated and we stood there for a few minutes. I loved him...I liked saying that, finally admitting it to him. After prison, I think I realised that I didn't want to hold back on anything. We were holding back on sex (for now), but I would rather hold back and make it special than ruin it in a sudden urge of hormones. I could definitely feel that Steve had them, but he was right. Waiting was the right thing to do, not matter how hard it was standing that close to him with my arms around his neck and the smell of him radiating off him and up my nostrils. _Boy did he smell good._

I slowly loosened my grip around him, gave him one last kiss on the cheek and picked up the shield. "Let's go give Stark our review." I told him and he nodded.

We walked to the elevator and I pressed the button for Stark's floor. As the elevator doors closed, I saw the multiple lines on the targets from where the shield had hit it, the target not really having much colour left, and the one line in the glass that I accidentally put there when Steve came over to help position my hips properly. I smirked and looked out the window at the fields of Avenger's trainees as we made our descent.

We came out of the doors on Tony's workshop floor and walked over to him. "Is it good?" he asked, eyes not moving off the project he was tinkering with.

"Brilliant actually. Can't wait to use it more often." I told him and he looked up, smiling.

"Good." he replied and took the shield from me, not even throwing a glance at Steve. As for Steve, his eyes were focused in my direction and I didn't see his head move to a different angle. _Great...now they were just ignoring each other._ We walked back to the elevator and I looked back at Tony.

He was watching us leave, his arms over his project pretending that he was focusing on it. I smiled at him sympathetically and he threw a small smile back. That small exchange may not have meant much to anyone else, but to me...I understood that he knew we were still friends. He probably knew that Steve had told me, either because of his intuition or his tricks to hack into security footage, and he knew that I was understanding of his side. 'His side' I mulled the words over in my mind. Of course it wouldn't actually come to choosing to side with two Avengers, but divisions were starting to form between the two of them. And that worried me.

 **Ohhh how IRONic (Haha! Classic puns)! Maria has no idea what's coming. I cannot wait for Civil War, because 1. it means that I get more stuff from the movies to include in my fanfiction and 2. I want to find out who dies. I know that sounds bad and I don't want any of the Avengers to die, but the trailers and the little snippet clips that the behind the scenes videos have shown are really crushing my soul.**

 **Please review my story, because it means a lot to me and I am so stressed right now that Fanfiction is practically my only happiness in life! Thank you for reading :)**


	25. Date?

**Really sorry I haven't updated in a while. Updates should be every two weeks or so, but I am super busy at the moment, so I apologise. Hope you like this chapter.**

 **Previously:**

 **We walked back to the elevator and I looked back at Tony.**

 **He was watching us leave, his arms over his project pretending that he was focusing on it. I smiled at him sympathetically and he threw a small smile back. That small exchange may not have meant much to anyone else, but to me...I understood that he knew we were still friends.**

 **He probably knew that Steve had told me, either because of his intuition or his tricks to hack into security footage, and he knew that I was understanding of his side. 'His side' I mulled the words over in my mind. Of course it wouldn't actually come to choosing to side with two Avengers, but divisions were starting to form between the two of them. And that worried me.**

"Hey Maria?" I heard a voice call from behind me. I turned around, paper and pen still in my hand, and smiled when I saw Steve standing there.

"Yes." I replied and he came and sat next to me.

"Are you free tonight?" He asked, sitting down next to me. Even though we were practically going out he looked a little nervous about asking me. His shoulders were tense and his jaw tight.

"Um...yeah. Why?" I asked, placing the papers down on the table next to my coffee cup.

"Did you...want to go on a date?" He asked. _Finally._ I only got out of prison yesterday, but I just wanted to spend more and more time with Steve. Finding out that he loved me too really made me happy. I wanted to spend more and more time with him every time I saw him.

"I would love that." I replied and I saw him breathe out though he tried to not make too visible. I laughed quietly and leant leant my head towards him. His hand went round to the back of my neck and I sucked in a breathe at the contact of his warm hand. Closing my eyes, I felt his lips touch mine and I moaned at the softness of them. I placed my right hand on his chest and my left fingers found their way to a hook on the side of his jeans, pulling him closer.

"Please keep it PG." I heard a different voice smugly say and it definitely wasn't Caps.

I pulled away from Steve and sighed. "Way to ruin the moment, Clint."

"I'm good at that." He replied as he walked past us. I noticed Steve's slightly pinked cheeks and smiled at his embarrassment, making an effort not to laugh on the outside.

"Remind me the next time you and Romanoff are 'doing it'. I'll make sure that JARVIS plays a claxon sound in your room."

"I don't need to remind you, because it's a constant. Whenever you don't see us, we are doing it." He smirked as he left the room and I rolled my eyes, looking back to a now fully blushing Captain America.

"Right, I'm going to the gym. Speak to you later?" I asked and kissed him on the cheek. I went to stand up, but he spoke which drew my attention back.

"Oh wait, the gym is being used by Maximoff for the next hour."

"Oh really? That's annoying."

"Yeah she booked the whole place out with Vision. They are making a lot of mess apparently."

"Does that mean I need to train with the other agents?" I asked.

"Not the best situation, but I'm afraid so." He said, regret in his voice. I didn't mind training with the other agents, but there was still a rumour about me being Black Death.

"Okay." I sighed. I guess I would have to train with them. I walked to my room and got changed into my sports gear, opting for a black sports bra with a loose grey Avengers top and black leggings. Stark gave me Avengers training gear yesterday and I hadn't got the chance to test it out. I was a new Avenger…. _Man, I am still getting over that._

I walked down the corridor, bumping into Hope and Scott on the way. "Hi Maria." Scott greeted.

"Scott, Hope. How are you finding everything?" I asked.

"The facilities are brilliant." Hope commented. I knew she had something against Tony, her dad giving her those views mainly. I agreed on the fact that Stark is careless for all but his suits, the team and Pepper.

"Yeah, I like it here." He smiled and I nodded once. "Good to hear. I had better go but I will catch up with you later." I remembered the deal that was placed yesterday and turned to Hope. "Oh did Scott tell you about Falcons bet."

"I can beat his ass blindfolded." She smirked and I laughed.

"Tell me when you do. I want to be there." I replied and she just nodded. I couldn't imagine her laughing. "Well if you need anything just get JARVIS to tell me and I'll be there."

"Thank you." Scott replied and we got on with our days.

Walking into the communal gym was intense to say the least. As soon as I opened the door. I hear the room go a little quieter. People were trying to indiscreetly stare at me, but some - mainly the bitchy group that tried to beat me at the dance battle all those weeks ago - were obviously trying to psych me out. People were whispering and talking to each other, trying to look normal but failing. As I walked through the sea of exercise equipment, I saw Clint working out on the bars, swinging round them like a monkey. The girls surrounding him didn't notice me until I walked past them and their eyes shifted from Clint's bare chest to me. Clint obviously noticed the attention being shifted as he stopped with his feet in the air, his arms holding up his body upside down on the bar.

He showed me a small smile and waved at me with his left hand, skilfully holding up his body with his right hand. I smiled back and continued my route to the treadmills as Clint started swinging again.

I got to the treadmill, put my water in the holder and began to set up the speed I wanted. I pressed 'Go', but as soon as it started up it was stopped by one of the bitches. I let the treadmill stop and she stared at me, folding her forearms across the treadmill top.

"Do you want something?" I asked.

"What do you think?" She replied with a sick grin across her face.

"Let me guess," I said me crossed my arms. "Either this is labelled as 'your special treadmill' and you want me off it or the more probable reason - you want me out of this building completely."

"Try the latter." She answered. She was a tough piece of work.

"Do you ever stop?" I asked. "It wasn't me. The person who was pretending to be Black Death has been put in prison."

"Bullshit." She snapped and narrowed her eyes.

"It's true." I argued. This girl would not listen. I shook my head. "I haven't killed anyone."

"Stop lying." She said and moved forward to punch me, but I intercepted her fist with my hand, catching it in mid-motion. The whole room fell silent and the bitch addressed the whole gym area. "Can't you see she's lying? They all are. The papers are publishing the story that they want us to believe, the story that the Avengers" she said, gesturing to my new top with the logo on it. "have created to blind us."

"Hey!" Someone shouted and I turned my head to see Clint sitting on top of the bar. "Do you want to shut the hell up? You think you have all the facts. You don't. But do you think the media has all the facts too? They don't. We are here to keep the public from knowing but we do not lie to you." He said, addressing everyone with the last bit, and jumped down from his perch.

"Maria Hill was the Black Death." he announced, pulling gasps from a lot of the agents. "She was brainwashed. By HYDRA. But that was many many years ago." A voice in the back of my head was telling me to kill him later for sharing this information, but in full honesty they needed to know. "Everybody knows what HYDRA is capable of." He said, his tone softer than before. He was, of course, referencing to the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. I saw many agents in the room bow their heads, remembering what happened to their friends.

"We all lost people." He said, his voice clogging up with emotion. He lost a friend, someone called Kate Bishop. I didn't know her, but apparently...apparently she was a wonderful woman. "Remember our enemy. We have lost too many of our own people and now we are turning against each other? This isn't the team we are meant to be." He said, walking towards me slowly. "The Avengers Academy is meant to be about creating a strong team not a team that turns on its fellow agents." He said, directing that information at the woman who was arguing with me.

He turned to face everyone else. "I am one of the agents that started out at S.H.I.E.L.D. I trained with you, went with the same processes with you." He said, glancing at some of the agents. He must have trained with some of them because I saw them smile. "Trust me, Maria Hill is innocent. Stop. Blaming. Her." he shouted out. "Thank you." He finished and walked back to the bars, picking up the shirt that was on the floor along with the water bottle he had and walked out of the room. The 'bitch' as I liked to call her glared at me, but eventually back off. I liked Clint's little supporting speech. He was always good at leading, especially on missions. I mean, he could be a good option to lead the Avengers team actually.

I forgot about those thoughts and got onto the treadmill, not having a problem with anymore agents who didn't like me. I only ran 10 miles but I just needed the little break to exercise. I kept strong in prison, but I didn't have the same fitness regime. After my workout, I picked up my water and walked towards the exit.

"Miss Hill?" an agent asked, stepping in front of me.

"Agent….Brooke's? Isn't it?" I remember Fury saying to me how important it was to know everyone's name. I made it my goal to try and know who everyone was, but I found it difficult to memorise everyone. Fury seemed to have no problem in remembering names. I always wanted to know his secret of doing it.

"Yes ma'am. I just wanted to apologise for thinking wrongly of you." he apologised.

"There's no need." I said, putting up one of my hands and shaking my head. "Rumours are often taken as fact."

"Thank you." He replied, smiling in relief. I hope I didn't make the agents worried about talking to me. _After Clint's speech, I think that they see of me as a normal human being now instead of the Black Death._

I nodded to the agent and walked out of the gym area. I was in the elevator and was about to think about how I was going to get round to training the agents next week without them hating me, but JARVIS began to speak.

"ALERT! Miss Hill, you are needed immediately in the Living Room for an Avengers mission briefing with Captain Rogers."

"What has happened?" I asked. "Wait...hang on. Avengers briefing?" _Whaaaat?_ "They want me on a mission already."

"It seems that way. Congratulations Miss Hill." JARVIS said and I smiled at his politeness. He was much better than Stark.

"Thank you JARVIS."

"It's a pleasure, Miss Hill." he replied and I smiled. I took a moment and sucked in a breathe. "It's my first mission." I whispered to myself. _Oh my God. It's my first mission! What if I do badly as an Avenger? I mean I've done missions in the past with the team but now...I'm going to be published in the newspaper as an Avenger!_ I was really nervous about it.

Before I could think about it anymore, the elevator doors opened and I saw Steve with Sam and Natasha. "Maria, good to see you." Sam waved and I smiled.

"You too. What's the mission?" I asked.

"Robbery in South Manhattan. Immediate response needed." Natasha answered simply.

"Okay. Suit up. Meet in here in five." Steve said and I barely had time to process the information. My legs just started moving for me and I let them lead the way to my room.

I quickly got into my new suit that Stark had placed in my room and picked up my shield. _Man I love having a shield like Steve does._ That thought only temporarily distracted me from the nagging distraction of the mission. Damn it. I hated being this nervous for something as little as a robbery.

I saw Steve in the living room, Sam and Natasha taking longer because of the additions to their suits. I looked at Steve's shield and smiled slightly (we were shield buddies, not that I would ever say that out loud to him), but I couldn't stop tapping my hands on my thighs.

"There's a plane ready on the roof to transport us." he said and I nodded, my eyes darting from the shield to his face to the window to the floor and back to the window again. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked and I nodded.

"Fine." I replied quickly. _Too quickly, Hill. Too quickly._

"No, you're not. It's perfectly normal to get first mission nerves."

"But it's not like this is a first mission." I said, trying to keep my eyes trained on his instead of darting around like I was a cat following a red laser light. "I've done at least 100 missions like this. This mission however is me as an Avenger." I said, tapping the 'A' symbol on my arm that represented the Avengers brand. Yes, the Avengers were now a brand that sold model toys of us, though I doubt there would be one of me already. However, you can never tell with this tower. The Avengers advertisement section likes to keep people up to speed. Of course all these rambling thoughts weren't any good at distracting me from the real problem. "If I don't get this mission right, the public are going to think differently of me. They've never seen me in action before."

"Which is why I know you will be amazing." he said, pulling me forward and kissing my forehead sending my stomach into a whirl. "Treat it like it was any other mission you have, like the one's S.H.I.E.L.D would give you."

"But i'm not part of S.H.I.E.L.D anymore."

"We still have some of the same aims that they used to have. Don't think about it. You will be fine, just believe in yourself."

"That's the problem." I replied. Usually I didn't have self-confidence issues, but I was really worried about this mission.

"Then I will do the believing for you." he said, holding my shoulders and pulling my so I had to look at him. "You can do this. I know you can."

"The old 'I believe in you' speech? Really?" I asked, feeling a little calmer than before now that I made the situation into a joke, but nerves still bubbled in my stomach.

"Well you know me. I'm over 95 years old and all." he smirked and I rolled my eyes.

"I really am dating an older guy." I said and he laughed. Nat came in through the other door and Sam followed shortly after. We walked to the elevator and I pressed the button to the rooftop. We went up in comfortable silence for a while until Sam began to strike up a conversation.

"What do we call you?" Sam asked and Steve frowned.

"I'm guessing that you are talking about Maria." he said.

"Yeah of course. She doesn't have a codename and now that she is an Avenger she kind of needs one."

"Oh, I hadn't even thought about that yet. How am I meant to create one that shows of who I am? Any ideas?" I asked.

"Well, don't let Tony decide." Nat commented and I nodded.

"Yeah. He will be labelling you 'Ice Queen' before anyone can get a word in." Sam replied and we chuckled slightly as the doors opened. I felt a rush of wind hit my face at the force of the plane that was waiting for us to board.

"Well we will have to think of one soon. The press will need one to use you as a symbol." Nat said as we got strapped in.

"I'll keep it in mind on the way." I replied and tighten the strap that went across my body into the buckle. The short journey was quiet apart from when Rogers reiterated our plan for taking the guys out. I brought three of my stun guns, knowing that we didn't really use bullets unless they were really required. I had bought one gun with bullets, but that was just incase of emergencies, which hopefully won't happen.

I felt someone reach out for my hand and hold it. I turned my head and smiled at Steve who must've thought I was still nervous. I was. I was extremely worried about the outcome of the mission. I kept reminding myself of his words about it being like any other mission. _It's just like any other mission. It's just like any other mission._ I repeated the words in my head like a mantra until we arrived at the site, which didn't take very long.

We were dropped off on the roof of the bank where the robbers where taking money from. We had no idea whether they had hostages or not, no clue about the situation, so Steve instructed us to get the hostages out first and have Sam deal with any runaways. Sam stayed on top of the building to fulfil his duty, but me, Steve and Nat attached grappling hooks to the side of the bank and abseiled down. I noticed some people snapping pictures and taking videos of us and panic built up in my chest. I took care in my descent and I saw Steve give a small smile to me when we reached the bottom.

"Just relax." he reminded me and I nodded as we unstrapped ourselves from the grappling lines.

The three of us entered the building, stun guns at the ready and I kept my steps quiet, making sure not to make any sound as we infiltrated. Steve made a signal for me to continue down the main corridor, for Nat to go right and Steve would take the left section of the building. It was one of the biggest banks in Manhattan and I would've taken in the beauty of the building's structure if I wasn't so focused on remaining alive.

My breathing was slightly erratic as I progressed down the corridor, gun pointed forward checking the new areas that came into view. Why was it so quiet? Robberies usually aren't this quiet.

" _JARVIS, are there any hostages?"_ Steve asked

"Everyone had been accounted for, Sir, apart from the robbers."

 _"Keep on guard. Quiet can't be good."_

"I'm advancing to the main vault now." I replied through the ear piece and tightened the grip on my gun. Suddenly, I felt a large force hit my head and I stumbled backwards from the hit. My vision was slightly blurry, but I could tell that the person who hit me was wearing all black and a burglars mask, only leaving his eyes in sight.

I reached up to shoot him quickly, but he kicked the gun straight out of my hands. I knew that I wouldn't have time to reach for another gun, so I put up my hands, blocking the hit that he gave me a second later.

"Anyone want to help me?" I asked into the comms unit and kicked the attacker in the stomach.

 _"On my way!"_ Nat called. The attacker attempted to punch me in the face, but I easily ducked, sweeping round him to kick the back of his knees. He groaned and I put my arm around his neck as he dropped to the floor. I pulled out my stun gun quickly and shot him in the head, making him loosen his grip on my forearms and drop to the floor.

Before I could get up, I felt an arm wrap around the front of my neck from behind me and suddenly the air in my lungs was being taken. "Nat!" I tried to shout, but it barely came out as a whisper. I desperately pushed against him, trying to bat his arms away with my fists. I tightly squeezed my eyes shut and attempted to head-butt him, but my efforts failed.

The pressure around my neck was eased quickly when the arm loosened and then removed itself from my neck. I opened my eyes and saw Steve with his shield re-attaching to his arm, Natasha just running up to him.

"Come on." Natasha said, nudging Steve as she ran past him. He rolled his eyes and Nat came to help me up.

"You okay?" she asked and I nodded.

"Just peachy." I said, my voice a little raspy from being choked.

"Okay." she replied and moved forward, stun gun up still.

"Are you alright though?" Steve asked reaching me as I picked up my gun from the floor.

"I'm perfectly fine Steve. Apart from the sore throat, I'm good." I told him and kissed his cheek to which he smiled. "Now as Nat said, come on." I said and gestured with my head in the direction she ran in.

We caught up to Nat, guns up and saw five people ahead of us loading money into bags. "Don't you hate it when they don't bring enough guys? I mean at least try to be threatening for God sakes." Natasha whispered, smirking.

"Unlike you, I kind of appreciate the low number of criminals right now." Steve replied and she rolled her eyes in response.

"Let's get to work." she said, running forward slipping her guns in her holders and flicking on her Widow bites. She jumped onto one of the outside guards shoulders, electrocuting him and taking him down. She rolled, quite elegantly, into a corner and shot down one of the robbers. I moved in and shot one of the criminals in the chest whilst kicking one of them in the face. The one I kicked then got hit in the face with Steve's fist.

Four of them were down in about five seconds, the fifth criminal running out of the room to the exit. "Falcon, get ready. North exit, five seconds." Steve said into the comms.

 _"On it." W_ e heard the serious reply of Sam Wilson come through the ear piece followed by a few grunts and a _"Target eliminated."_ from him again. That was a quick mission.

"Well that didn't take much." Natasha smirked, looking at the bodies on the floor.

"Good. Keep the press busy out there on the situation." he said, picking up one of the bags and inspecting it. "Tell them it looks like it was amateur bank robbers wanting money." he said placing the bag back on the ground, still scanning the room for any other threats.

 _"Got it."_ he replied and I heard the bleep that signalled the switching off of his ear piece.

Steve turned to me and smiled. "See, nothing to worry about at all."

"We haven't gone outside to face the cameras yet." I said, biting my lip. My nerves had died down from the success of the mission, but what if they published an article against me? The first news people see is the one they usually remember.

"It's going to be fine." Steve said, smiling at me.

"Trust me, they won't bother you." Natasha told me, a tone of protectiveness in her voice. Romanoff always surprised me now that she was with Clint. I think he had brought out the emotions inside her heart and I smiled at the thought of her being different. She was better this way. We spoke with the police officers that came for quite a while about the robbery. The names were linked with many other crimes committed in the past. I didn't expect any less really. How many people started out good? How many stayed that way?

"I didn't even get to use my shield in the end." I told Steve leaning up against the wall next to him. We were looking out at Sam and Natasha who were speaking with the police department to explain what in detail happened during the robbery.

"Next time we need to make sure you do. Practise makes perfect." he smiled and I nodded. "At least you had a brilliant first mission though."

"Yeah. Simple and sweet but it gets me off to a good start which is positive news."

"I am happy everything worked out."

"Apart from the near strangling, yeah." I laughed but he had a little frown across his face. My heart ached at his innocent sweet face.

"How _is_ the neck?" He asked lifting his hand up to which made me gasp slightly. "Feeling any better than you were before?"

I nodded, resulting in a small amount of pain from the injury I had sustained. "I'm feeling much better, thank you. It is nice you are concerned." I turned my head to look at him and he did the same, our heads facing each other on the wall.

"I'll always be concerned." He replied and brushed over the skin on my neck where the criminal's fingers had been imprinted an hour ago. He seemed to brush away the still intense feeling of suffocation, because I felt my throat relax when he touched my neck. "You are what I am concerned about most."

I smiled. "That and being a gentleman." I said and he laughed, shrugging.

"I guess it's kind of true." he shrugged.

"Kind of?" I asked dramatically and he smirked at me. "Kind of true? What wi-"

"HILL!" Romanoff shouted and I rolled my eyes.

"We never get a break, do we?" I told him as she came towards us.

"I would rather be busy than bored." he said and I nodded my head, agreeing with him.

"They need you outside." she said and beckoned us to come with her. I looked at Steve nervously and then focused on not tripping over my own feet.

"You thought of a name yet?" Nat asked and my mouth dropped slightly.

"Shit!" I cursed and groaned. "What do I do?" I asked them.

"Think quickly." she replied and kept striding forward. It took a moment for me to keep up with her and Steve, but I eventually did.

 _Damn it! Name, name, name. Black death is the only codename I've ever had and I can't exactly use that! I'm just an agent. Just an agent..._

"I'm just an agent..." I whispered to myself, but Steve picked up on it.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"I'm just an agent." I said, smiling to him. He looked at me with his eyebrows raised and his eyes flickered to somewhere else in the room and then back to me.

"Yeah, I'm still not getting it."

"Sorry, my codename. Why can't I just be called 'The Agent'?"

"The Agent?" he said, the name obviously bouncing round in his mind. He smiled and began to nod. "I like it. Short, simple, but effective. It says something about you too."

"The fact that I'm the most vulnerable?" I joked and he laughed, shaking his head this time.

"No, it shows how you have progressed from being just an agent to an Avenger. It shows the public that anything is possible." he explained and I smiled at him. _Only he would say something like that and make my heart melt._

"I love you." I told him and he slowed down his walking for a moment to look at me and took my hand.

He kissed it gently and then placed it back down by my side. "I love you too Agent." He smiled and I returned his smile with a grin of my own. _'The Agent'. Not the most inventive title, but I had about two minutes to think of it, so you can't exactly blame me. I like it being like that. I never had a codename at S.H.I.E.L.D and having one that ties in with who I used to be as well as who I am now is definitely fitting._ I replayed the words 'The Agent' in my head and grew to like it even more.

We reached the door and I breathed out before opening it and being overwhelmed with the flashes of cameras. I didn't let it show and I walked confidentially forward with Natasha and Steve, Sam still inside talking with the other policemen. He spoke earlier, so it didn't appear as if we were neglecting him from the group.

"Today we apprehended a burglary that took place at this bank. There were seven robbers, all of which we apprehended with the help of our new Avengers, Agent Hill, who will officially be codenamed as 'The Agent'." There were a few gasps and lots of cameras clicking away at me and the others. "The agents have now been arrested and will have a fair trial. Thank you." Steve said and smiled.

"Are there any questions?" Jessica asked the reporters, shooting me a smile before doing so, and they all put their hands up. Jessica was doing the job that I used to do. I still saw her as an equal even though I was her boss. I hadn't seen her in a few days, so I reminded myself to catch up with her. "Yes." she said, pointing at one of the reporters who I recognised as Christine Everhart.

"Christine Everhart, Vanity Fair. I was wondering, along with the public, what 'The Agent' is going to bring to the table." I really didn't like her attitude. She was acting as if I was a pointless addition. Thanks for judging a book for it's cover Lady!

"She was previously an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, Assistant Director actually." He pointed out with a smile. "So she is perfectly qualified enough to be with us on that front."

"How about hearing from the actual 'Agent' herself?" she replied rudely. Steve was slightly taken back, but went back to his normal self after a moment. Spending so much time with him made me understand when he was acting like a different person.

"Of course." he said and turned to me.

"Miss Hill, do you want to explain to us why you are here?" she replied. _God this woman was annoying._

"I'm here to help. At S.H.I.E.L.D, I was a level 9 agent, working directly next to the Director who was Nick Fury. I've been on hundreds of missions and a couple of weeks I did a mission with some of the Avengers. Now I'm helping them with the label of being an actual Avenger. I've been assisting them for the past two years and I am prepared to help them in the field now. I am here to protect the people of the world and nothing less." I explained to her, feeling more confident than I had before.

Everhart glared at me a moment before taking a few notes down on her notepad. I saw the team smiling at me and the reporters smiling too all apart from Christine. They were obviously happy with my response. "Who else?" Jessica asked, smiling to the reporters.

 **Please review! I hope you liked this chapter! I put a lot of work into this chapter, so I hope that you liked it.**


	26. A Twenty-First Century Hero

**I apologise if this has any spelling mistakes. I kinda explain myself at the bottom. SMUTTY CHAPTER!**

We returned from the mission and I went straight to the tablet on the coffee table, researching the news stories that had arisen. Positive blog posts had begun to spread, mainly about my new role, but also about the robbery.

"All good I'm guessing?" Steve asked, joining my side and I gave him the tablet. He smiled and read the headline. "'New Avenger proves hopeful for better world.' I told you you could do it."

He delicately placed the tablet down on the table and we turned to face each other. His blue eyes made me think of the sea and how it shines against the sunlight - _dramatic I know!_ But it was true. It was my favourite things about him I think. Steve was a kind, forgiving, trustworthy, gentle person. Actually, every positive adjective in the world could probably be linked with Steve. He was the perfect balance being doing what is needed to do and doing what is right. His uplifting nature made people feel good about themselves. It certainly made me feel better. He knew how to make you happy. "Thank you for believing in me." I replied finally, realising that I hadn't even given him a response yet because I was too busy thinking.

"I knew you would do well." Steve smiled and I saw some of the other Avengers walk through the door on the other side of the room. "We all did." Jessica said and smiled at me. I looked to Steve, a happy moment of joy on my face, and then returned my gaze back to the others. I saw Jessica's beaming mile and couldn't help but beam back at her. I stood up and ran, even though I would insist on remembering it at walking, towards her, her arms stretched forward to greet me.

"Hey." She said, arms wrapping around me tightly when I got to her.

"Hi, how have you been? Busy?" I asked, responding with the same tightness.

Yeah." She said, pulling back to look at me properly. "I've been busy keeping the press off your back because of the whole Black Death situation." She said, screwing up her nose. The quality wasn't intentionally cute, but it appeared that way. Usually if she didn't want to talk about something. That screwed up face would be made. "But now I want the complete opposite, the spotlight needs to be drawn to you."

"To distract everyone from all the other problems going on." I muttered and she heard it, but I wasn't overly concerned about my word choice. Everyone knows that the Avengers reputation has been put down ever since the Battle of New York. I was referencing to the Registration problem, but of course none of them knew about it yet. My word choice had been for Steve to hear. I flicked my gaze over to him and his eyes were closed, squeezing them tighter than you usually would if you were just napping, but not making anything obvious. He had come to join us and I was grateful for him getting involved in the discussion. Tony and Steve needed to sort out their differences quickly before a war breaks out between the two of them!

"Exactly! Not that we will tell the public that of course. You will be a distraction for the moment though your time will come and people will accept you as another member of the team." She smiled and I smiled back. "Until the next time Maria." She added and nodded her head before walking towards the door. I saw out of the corner of my Jess and Sam meet at the doorway and I loved how intimate they were. He swooped her into his arms and kissed her firmly, which kind of made me want something like that. Steve was from the 1940s so he had different views on...that kind of stuff, but I wanted him to let loose sometimes and act as if was his lifeline or something. I thought that it was incredibly selfish of me, because I knew I had to wait for him.

"So," Steve said, turning to me as the others departed the room to get on with their own busy days. " _Are_ all the reports positive?"

"I think I only saw one negative one, but it was published by Everhart so I ignored it. There was a positive article about you actually."

"Me?" He asked in surprised. We walked back over to the sofa and I picked up the tablet, bringing it with me as we walked to my room. "They published something positive?"

"I think that people are accepting that you are here to stay." I said, clicking on my Safari history and selecting the link. I read the headline. "'Captain America - a twenty-first century hero.' I think people are starting to accept you more in this time you know..."

"But I know that everyone has different opinions." He said, not really thinking about his words. His eyes were concentrating on the screen as he read the article from Christine Everhart that included stuff against him. We went into my room, sitting down on the sofa, and he continued to read the article. I put my hand on his shoulder and rubbed it gently. I smiled at him, not that he knew. He was too interested in looking at the tablet to notice.

"Stop looking at them." I told him, but his eyes wouldn't move from the screen. "Steve?" I asked, but he wasn't listening. I huffed as he wasn't looking at me, too interested in the bad review of him. "Right..." I said and shuffled a little closer to him. His eyes drifted slightly, but went back to the tablet after a moment, getting immersed in the news again.

I leant my head into his shoulder and breathed lightly on his neck, my bottom lip just ghosting over his skin. I saw him shake slightly and lower the tablet, letting his hand loosen and the tablet nearly slip from his fingers.

"Okay, you have my attention." he said, clearing his throat and squirming slightly. I chuckled quietly against him and kissed his neck lightly, nipping at it with my lips. I heard him suck in a breathe quickly and I smiled against his skin. My hand came up around the other side of his neck and I pressed my lips harder against his skin. Teasing Steve was one of my favourite things to do. I knew he hadn't had sex and I doubt he had even had a woman this close to him before, which actually made me feel really horny. Being the first woman to kiss parts of his skin was one of the main reasons why I loved it. It just made it more sensual, because he had never had anything like this done to him.

Him groaning and placing a hand on my arm only encouraged me to keep going. "R...Ria?" He said, the words barely coming out from his lips.

"What?" I asked, kissing along his jaw line, which drew a groan from his throat. I felt him roll his hips slightly, which must of been subconscious for him.

"Please...s-stop..." He managed to rasp as I went back down to kiss his throat. He leaned his head back, partly from my hands that were in his hair, but I could feel that his head was relaxed.

"We aren't doing anything without clothes..." I argued, giggling, and he tightened his grip on my hips. He didn't want to go any further which was fine, but I couldn't help but absolutely worship him.

"But if you don't stop we will be..." He said, the words slipping out without him thinking. I stopped kissing him, but didn't withdraw my legs from him, so I ended up sitting on his lap. I looked at him and saw his pained facial expression. In that moment, I understood what was wrong and it wasn't just the indication from the pressure pressing against my lower stomach. I had to stop thinking about...THAT...for a minute and focus on Steve, even though it was very distracting.

"Why have I been such an idiot?" I asked.

"What?" He asked, his ragged speech a little deeper than usual.

"You've been practically...deprived of a love life as you are still a virgin and haven't done anything with anyone else have you..." I said and he gulped slightly, his ears and cheeks tinging pink.

"No..." He replied quietly and I though he was so cute.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of. It's actually kind of cute." I told him, kissing his hot red cheek and he smiled. "At least you're not as bad as Tony was!" I said and he laughed slightly, which turned me on slightly from the vibrations of him moving under me. "As I was saying..." I continued, trying to regain my stability. "You've been deprived of all this stuff" I said, gesturing to the both of us. "So now that you have this your hormones are crazy because you want sex so badly. True?" I asked and he nodded feebly, his cheeks blushing madly at the word 'sex'. "Your ashamed?" I asked and he sighed, taking a hand on my hip and rubbing it once down his face.

"I just...I know it's natural to feel this way." He said, gesturing to his crouch. I could tell he was embarrassed by it but at least he knew that it was natural! "It's all chemicals and what not but I don't want you to think that having..." he couldn't managed the word and I giggled quietly on the inside, not laughing outwardly as I knew that would be mean.

"Sex?" I asked and I noticed his shoulders relax slightly.

"Exactly. I don't want you thinking that that is the reason I want to be with you." He said, hanging his head low. I cupped his face with my cheeks and kissed his lips gently.

"I know that's not the reason." I told him and reached my hand up to stroke his shoulder. "Don't worry about that. And as you wish..." I said, removing my leg from his waist to sit next to him. "I shall detach myself."

"Still stay close though." He said, pulling me towards him into a side hug. I welcomed it and sighed, wrapping an arm around his torso.

"So have you decided on somewhere for tonight?" I asked, looking out of the huge windows of my living room and relaxing more inwardly. For once in my life, the word happy was playing around in my mind.

"Yes I have." He said, a hint of pride in his voice.

"Annnnnd?" I asked, looking up at him from his shoulder.

"And what?" He asked, a sweet innocent look on his face.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked excited that it would be my first date with Steve. I never was much of a dater at S.H.I.E.L.D. But it's never too late to try right?

"That, ma'am, is a secret." He said, grinning, showing all of his beautifully lined teeth.

"You're no fun." I replied and sulked by sticking my head against his shoulder again. "So what do you want to do now?"

"How about watching a movie? You pick?"

"I don't mind. What's on your list?"

"Stark said something about Pirates of the Carribean? It sounded interesting."

"You've never seen it? We will go with that then." I smiled and asked JARVIS to play the film. We snugged up together and even in the daylight it felt nice to watch a movie with him. That's what our relationship was. Actually, it was better than nice. I love it and I loved him.

When the movie had finished, I told JARVIS that we didn't want to watch anything else and we stood up together. "That main character reminds me too much of Tony." Steve said and I laughed.

"Yeah I can see that actually!" I replied and we walked over to my mini kitchen to get drinks.

"You excited for our date tonight?" He asked and I smiled.

"Can't wait. I've wanted to for so long." I replied and poured myself some water.

"Me too. Have you got any work to do before later?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and starting my coffee machine. I found having coffee in the middle of the day strange. I usually just had it in the morning and then after that I no longer needed to refuel. However, I guess with Steve having to consume more calories each day he would need more sustenance.

"I need to finish the spread sheet for the groups for next week."

"Isn't Jessica meant to be your assistant now?" he asked and I nodded.

"I know that I am meant to be full on training as an Avenger now, but I like planning what the scientists and analysts have to do. It entertains me. Besides, I don't want to just do physical work, it would be too tiring." I told him, sipping on my drink. "Doing the plans will mean that I will be scheduling sessions for myself, but honestly I know I will discipline myself."

"Well I'm happy that makes you happy." he smiled and got a cup to put his coffee in.

"What makes you happy?" I asked, curious to his hobbies now. I knew Steve very well, but besides working out and eating I hadn't seen him do anything else and I was curious as to why that was.

"Art is one of my passions."

"Art? As in drawing art?" I asked and he frowned.

"Hey!" he scolded, half-smiling. "What's wrong with drawing?"

"Nothing is wrong with drawing!" I said, putting a hand up. "It's just I didn't imagine you would be into that sort of thing." I thought about Steve drawing and just imagined the pencil snapping in his strong grip.

"It just makes me calm. You have your spread sheets," he said with a smile. "and I have my pencil and paper."

"Have you ever drawn me?" I asked, hopping up onto the counter surface.

He looked at me, pink blooming lightly on his cheeks, and showed a small smirk. "Maybe..."

"Oh you have to show me. I would love to see your work!" I said, hopping back off the counter to stand next to him, leaning my hand against the side of the table.

"Maybe..." he replied and I pushed him lightly.

"This is unfair. I am determined now. Challenge on." I told him, a playful scowl across my face.

"You just look cute like that." he said, kissing me lightly on my scrunched up lips and then going back to his drink making. He looked at his watch. "I made the reservation for eight by the way, so we have two hours. Are you getting the spread sheets done before then?" he asked and I nodded, quickly pouring my drink into the sink and placing it on the side.

"I shall speak to you later." I said and put my hand on the back of his neck, gazing into those beautiful blue eyes of his. "No trouble before our date. Got it?"

"Got it." he said with a smile and kissed me. I tasted the coffee on his lips and smiled to myself. _Maybe I will try coffee during the daytime._ His lips were a little warm against my cold ones, but I liked the feeling and relished in it slightly, gripping onto the strands of hair on his head. I slowly pulled back and smiled.

"You can let yourself out." I smiled and walked to the door.

"I'll be back here at 7:30 to get you." he shouted.

"See you then." I shouted back and made my way out the door, a grin on my face.

"Who were you calling to?" Sam asked, running a little to catch up with me from the end of the corridor.

"Steve." I said, trying not to let my voice sound too excited about that fact.

"Moving in already? Wow, that's fast!" Sam replied, smiling and I shoved him to the side.

"Oh piss off Samuel."

"Hey, I told you to not call me that." he said, frowning.

"Whatever!" I waved him off and he smiled.

"Well, I really am happy for you two." he said as we reached the main living room.

"Me too." I replied, a little laugh escaping my lips.

"Just so you know I have to be all fake big brotherly and say that if you hurt him-"

"I know, I know!" I said, holding up my hands and smiled. "You'll _try_ and kill."

"There's no try about it." he laughed and stepped away into the kitchen.

"Sure thing Samuel." I replied, laughing, and went to my office. When I arrived at the office, I went straight to my desk and brought up the training sessions for next week. JARVIS sent a message through with some information, including a note from Jessica saying that she left them for me to do as she knew I would want to. She knew me well.

It was a large spreadsheet that involved the Avengers training schedules, started trainees, cleaning staff, special agents, receptionists (they do secretary work when there is no job to do, but the phones go quite a lot of the time) and scientists. I basically have the job of scheduling when each group either uses the training session, what the scientists should briefly be looking at thought Doctor Selvig has the main control over that sector so I usually just leave it to him, or who is going out on missions. I like organising the teams. It allows me to keep an eye on the Avengers Tower progress and let's me think about what everyone is doing.

Most people end their shifts at 6 o'clock and down time is after that. If people want to book the gym or training room for a time then they can easily but they have to actually book it, no charge of course. Steve is one that regularly books the gym out at obscene hours, such as one at 3 o'clock in the morning tomorrow. That's ridiculous! Maybe he forgot about our date tonight? I mean I wasn't planning on anything, but I certainly wouldn't mind spending the night with him.

I finished off the timetable and noted that I only had half an hour before me and Steve were scheduled to go out for dinner. I locked my computer and left the room, running through outfit choices in my head. There was a gorgeous purple dress that Clint said I looked good in, but that was Clint and he was looking at something purple, so obviously he is going to love it.

As I entered the living room, my mind remember a little black dress hidden away in the back of my closet. It wasn't slutty, coming only a few centimetres above the knee, but I felt good in it. After that decision was made, I only had to think about make-up, nails, toe-nails, hair, lingerie, handbag, necklace, bracelet, ring, earrings and shoes. So not much...

By the time I had taken the outfit out of my bedroom cupboard I had already decided on my choices. I was going to go with no make-up because I don't want any lipstick smudges, no nail painting as I didn't have enough time, hair as it it, sexy black lingerie of course (you know, just incase something...happens), no jewellery because it was too much stress to think about all the different things and a set of small heeled black shoes.

I unzipped the dress and stepped into it. There was something about putting on a dress that made me satisfied, perhaps the tight fit just made me feel exhilarated or maybe the excitement of finally going on a date with Steve was just making me feeling so good.

At that moment, I heard a knock at the door. "Hang on!" I called, reaching my hand around to get the zipper for my dress, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't reach it. "Damn it..." I muttered and walked barefooted towards the door anyway, glancing a clock at the time. I still had five minutes.

I opened the door and saw Steve dressed in a smart black tux with a white shirt. God damn. His hair was gorgeously blonde, as usual, and because there were none covering his forehead, his eyes shone beautifully out at me, almost reaching for me.

"Hey." He greeted and it took me a second to gather my thought processes and smiled.

"Hi." I waved to him and opened the door a little further. "Please come in..." I told him and he nodded, bringing a small flower bouque out from behind his back and giving it to me. Oh my goodness.

"You are such a gentleman." I told him and pressed a kiss to his check as I shut the door. He blushed slightly at the comment and looked to the rest of the room.

"Do you have a vase?" He asked and I nodded over the window sill that thankfully had an empty vase sitting there. "Do you mind?" He asked holding up the flowers and gesturing to the vase.

"By all means." I told him and he walked over to the vase.

He walked to the windows and I followed him. He placed them in the vase and smiled. "Do you like them?" He asked and I smiled at the yellow, pink and white flower arrangement.

"Yes, thank you." I replied and walked over to him, tapping him on the shoulder as I arrived.

"Yes?" He asked, curiously.

"Would you be able to do the back of my dress up please?" I asked politely, turning around and sweeping my hair to the side.

I heard him clear his throat and tensed my stomach muscles slightly. His warm fingers delicately made their way down my back, briefly touching the skin there, and landed on the zip at my lower back. I thought about how easy it would be to drop my dress and get lost with him, but I was pulled back to reality when the dress was fully zipped. Steve wanted to wait and I accepted that, no matter how unbearable the tension in my stomach was getting.

"You all ready to go?" He asked, pressing a soft kiss to my neck.

"I won't be going anywhere if you keep kissing me like that." I told him and turned round to face him.

"What? Like this?" he asked and pressed one strong kiss to my lips.

"Hey, who was asking me to stop earlier?" I asked, lightly shoving him.

He laughed and grabbed my waist but I squealed. He looked confused at first, but after a moment a grin slowly crept it's way up his face. Oh shit...

"No! No, no, no!" I shouted, but he had already brought his hands up and began to tickle my stomach. I tried to get away but chased me and we ended up tumbling onto the bed. "S...stop...un...f-fair!" I managed to get out between the gasps of breath from being tickled. He finally stopped and put his hand on either side of me, his palms pressing into the mattress below us. We laughed for a while before it died down and we got distracted with each other's eyes.

He leant down and I shut my eyes, letting his lips capture mine. That moment felt so sweet and loving. I felt like crying in all honesty.

I felt his lips leave mine and I kept my eyes shut for a little longer before opening them to see his beautifully sculpted face staring down at me. What did I ever do to deserve him? I thought in my head and smiled. "Come on, we are going to be late otherwise." I told him, rolling out from under him to sit on the side of the bed. I grabbed my shoes and sat down to place them on my feet. "Not that I know whether we even would be late or not considering that I don't know where we are going."

"You will soon." He smiled and came towards me as I finished putting on my shoes. He held out his arm and I weaved my hand through to walk with him.

"Did you get your timetable for next week done?" He asked as we exited my room and began to walk down the corridor.

"Yes, but i did notice that you booked a training session tomorrow...at 3..." I said, raising an eyebrow. He looked at the ground and pressed his lips together.

"Maybe..." He said and scratched the back of his head with his free hand.

"Why do you wake up so early?" I asked him and he hung his head slightly, peering up at my with guilty eyes. "It's not that I should be asking. I should be asking why you got to bed so late after that time."

He breathed out deeply and shook his head, pressing the bridge of his nose with his finger and thumb. "Nightmares?" I asked and he nodded solemnly.

"Sam says he has a lead on Bucky." He told me and I had to stop myself from halting my walk and take in the information. This was big news. There was still a search for the Winter Soldier ever since the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D and that was years ago. He was considered a terrorist, obviously not in our eyes, but the people didn't accept that he was experimented on. "The more I keep thinking about it, the more often he comes up in my dreams."

"Well hopefully we will find him soon. Maybe that lead will prove to be worth something?" I said and he smiled sadly.

"Let's hope so." he replied as we walked into the living room.

"Oh, you two look nice." Pepper called from the sofa, walking up to us, and we dropped our hand. She extended her arms and gave us both a huge hug. My eyes widened at her strong embrace and I had to help myself from showing a small wince. I saw Clint and Rhodey walk over to us as Pepper released us from the bone crushing-hug.

"Finally taking the girl out then?" he asked and Steve smiled.

"Yep. And I can't wait." he said, looking over at me and smiling.

"Well we had better not keep you. Have a good night." James said and we smiled, saying goodbye whilst heading to the door.

"Are they all going to be here when we come back?" I asked him and he smiled at me, trailing his fingers down my right arm to meet my hand. He enveloped my hand with his and squeezed it slightly.

"Everyone said that they were going out tonight partying anyway. Also, I told Jessica to make sure that Tony wasn't on the floor when we got back."

"So they will all be gone?" I asked, trying not to smile at him.

"Yeah, not until midnight anyway." he told me and put his arm round my shoulder. When they elevator dinged to signify we had reached the bottom floor, he took his hand in mine and walked out. There were less agents in the building that before, because most of them were at social events having fun rather than working, but there were still a few walking around. Some glanced and scowled and some glanced and smiled, but I couldn't care less what they thought about me and Steve. We were dating and that was that. We were Marmite - you either love it or you hate it. And I loved it.

There was a car already waiting outside and we got in. The journey didn't take very long and we got into a deep discussion about why Thor might be a good teacher of Norse mythology. "I mean, he would probably want a suitable cover for when he is here if he so needed." I argued and Steve nodded in agreement. We exited the car and Steve took my hand as we walked into the restaurant.

It was a small, expensive restaurant near the old Avengers Tower that was decorated neatly with beautiful, but not tacky, fairy lights that made the outside look breathtaking. The inside was just as beautiful, the wooden tables decorated with candles and gorgeous cutlery. I would be lying if I said I wasn't excited that everything was symmetrical. OCD was beginning to kick in there. The restaurant was beautiful, full of people chatting and eating, which brought a more comfortable atmosphere to the room.

He took my hand and squeezed it softly. "Come on." He smiled and took me to the table. It made me smile when Steve went forward and pulled out the chair for me. I sat down and he went to sit down opposite me.

"What wine would you like to order?" He asked and I raised an eyebrow at him.

"You trying to get me drunk cap?" I asked and he laughed, raising up his hands in defence.

"Not at all. I just want you to have whatever you want." He smiled and looked back down at his menu. In that moment, I had the sudden realisation that he has changed since I first began more than friends with him. If I had said that a couple of weeks ago, he would have flipped and gone all embarrassed about it. I liked the improved Steve. Of course, he would still have his adorable embarrassing moments, which I still though were super cute, but he had them less now that we were together.

"You spotted anything you like on the menu?" I asked, picking up a menu of my own. My eyes glanced down to the takeaway section. Mmmm...fish and chips.

"Maybe the steak?" he said, but I could see his eyes focused on something else on the menu.

"What else are you looking at?" I asked and he smirked.

"They do fish and chips here..." he told me and I smiled.

"You want them? Because I kinda wanted to get fish and chips. They are one of my favourite dishes."

"Really?" he asked, looking like an excited six year old.

"Of course. I was thinking about ordering it anyway." I told him and I looked out at the restaurant, trying to catch the waiters eye.

"Oh you don't have to get the waiter like that..." he said and I looked at him curiously. "Feel underneath your side of the table." I put my hand under, a little cautious as to what I might find, and felt a button sticking out from under it.

"What is it?" I asked.

"You press it and they come and take your order. Quite efficient don't you think?" he smiled and I pressed the button.

"You say that you need to catch up with the times." I smiled and I saw a waiter come over to our table. He took our order - a fish and chips to share - and we spent the rest of the night talking about the other Avengers, mostly good, the way S.H.I.E.L.D is trying to recover, Steve's artwork and how I would find out about it, Steve buying a house in Brooklyn when he grows up and my new found love for Sushi.

The night went by so quickly. I had never had such a good date, but that was to be expected from Steve as he was such a good conversationalist when you were both interested in each other's opinions, which we were. I spent most of the night smiling, laughing and eating, having the occasional sip of wine to drink as I didn't want to drink myself away so I would forget the details of tonight. I wanted all the memories to stay in my head.

"Thank you." Steve said, paying the bill and we walked out of the restaurant.

"You didn't have to you know." I told him as we got back into the car that had been waiting for us to finish our night. "We could've easily split the bill."

"But I didn't want to. I wanted to treat you. Your my girl and I wouldn't have wanted anything else other than for you to be happy." he told me as we tied ourselves in. His words made my heart clench and I fell a little deeper in love with him after he said that.

"Thank you for the meal anyway. It was lovely."

"Nothing better that fish and chips."

"Well apart from white chocolate." I smiled and he laughed. The journey back seemed to take a little longer, but maybe it was because I was anxious. I really was. What was going to happen when we got back? Where we going to go our separate ways, him giving me a kiss on the cheek or would we go to his room and have full blown out sex? What were the rules? Why is there no handbook for this kind of stuff? Steve obviously had feelings for me, that was evident, and I was worried that our feelings were just going to control us, but in reality, it doesn't matter. We are in the here and now and we have waited too long to hold back any longer.

We got out of the car, thanking the driver as he went under the Avengers Tower to park the car, and went inside.

"Where do you think they've gone tonight?" Steve asked as we got into the elevator.

"I don't know, but I don't think a strip club is Visions scene do you?" I asked and he laughed, only a small blush coming onto his face.

"Hopefully, we will have the place to ourselves." he said absent-mindedly. As soon as he realised the double meaning behind his words, his jaw dropped slightly. "I...i'm really sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I just me-"

"I know." I said and kissed his cheek lightly. "It'll be nice to spend some time together."

We arrived on the Avengers floor and we were both a little hesitant to step out. I mean, who should say what first? His room or my room or no room? "Umm...did you want to-"

Before I knew what I was doing, I had cut his rambles off with a strong kiss to his lips, my hands going straight to either side of his head, keeping him close to me. I needed this. He kissed back with equal strength and his hands went straight to my waist as mine weaved through his hair. His hands slid down, grabbing the tops of my thighs, and hoisting me up so I rested on his hips. I instinctively wrapped my legs around the back of his body to make myself feel better and to have a better grip on him. He supported me by holding my butt and squeezed it, which just made my hunger for him increase.

"Steve...bedroom..." I told him between kisses. He walked across the living room, confident that he wouldn't trip over anything, and before I knew it I was pressed against the wall of the bedroom corridor, outside the door that lead to his room. Our kisses were getting desperate and more and more devouring. I just wanted him.

"Are you...sure...about this?" he asked, having to gasp slightly between words. I pulled back for a moment, the heat between us still high, and rested my head against his.

"Positive." I told him firmly. That was all it took before he took me into his bedroom and undressed me.

 **Hello my wonderful followers.**

 **Due to exams and a recent death in the family my life has become awfully stressful and horrible and things are just going mad at the minute. However, I am not here to say that I am quitting this story. I am going to update one time over the next month and a half and then after that I will continue as usual, because that is when my exams finish. Also, I have some chapters of another story stored up in my documents managed and will be posting some instead of the frequent updates of this story. Please don't de-follow this story, because it is still continuing!**

 **Make sure to look on my profile for the new Pietro fanfic over the next few days. :)**

 **Thank you for reading this and I hope you have a good day!**

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 **THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE GREAT REVIEWS BY THE WAY! I'm going to see Civil War today and I cannot wait. Hope it's good :) I will not put any spoilers into the story unless I state it at the top. Thank you**


	27. A Little Update (AN)

**Sorry to leave you on a tiny cliff hanger in that last chapter. As I said, I know exactly what is going to happen to Steve and Maria and I cannot wait to share. I should be updating this some point next week, but exams do start in a week and a half!**

 **There is a Pietro and OC story published on my account now, so please follow it. I have had them stored up in my document manager. I really hope you like it.**

 **This one should be updated soon! Thank you for your patience. CHECK OUT MY PAGE NOW!**

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	28. The Morning

Hello everyone! I missed this story a lot so I decided to do little section whenever I had free time and couldn't do revision, like in the car and stuff :) So I really hope you like this chapter! I really put a lot of effort into this story, SO PLEASE REVIEW! THANK YOU!

 **We arrived on the Avengers floor and we were both a little hesitant to step out. I mean, who should say what first? His room or my room or no room? "Umm...did you want to-"**

 **Before I knew what I was doing, I had cut his rambles off with a strong kiss to his lips, my hands going straight to either side of his head, keeping him close to me. I needed this. He kissed back with equal strength and his hands went straight to my waist as mine weaved through his hair. His hands slid down, grabbing the tops of my thighs, and hoisting me up so I rested on his hips. I instinctively wrapped my legs around the back of his body to make myself feel better and to have a better grip on him. He supported me by holding my butt and squeezed it, which just made my hunger for him increase.**

 **"Steve...bedroom..." I told him between kisses. He walked across the living room, confident that he wouldn't trip over anything, and before I knew it I was pressed against the wall of the bedroom corridor, outside the door that lead to his room. Our kisses were getting desperate and more and more devouring. I just wanted him.**

 **"Are you...sure...about this?" he asked, having to gasp slightly between words. I pulled back for a moment, the heat between us still high, and rested my head against his.**

 **"Positive." I told him firmly. That was all it took before he took me into his bedroom and undressed me.**

 **The next morning (This chapter has a lot of smut at the beginning by the way!) I promise you that this chapter is kinda important, but you need to get past the smutty stuff first, which i'm sure isn't a problem.**

The first thing I noticed was the light coming from the window and shining onto the floor. I was happy that the light didn't hit the bed otherwise I would be blinded. Blinking my eyes open, I felt an arm around my waist, a palm lightly pressed against my naked stomach. I had a small moment of panic before I realised what had happened the night before. I turned my head and looked at Steve, his face twitching slightly as he dreamed and his lips parted. He looked so sweet and I wanted to kiss all over his face, but I didn't want to wake him. I smiled and turned my head back around, making my neck feel a little more comfortable.

I lightly took his hand and tried to slide out from underneath, but his hand twitched and I knew he was awake. He put his hand back on my stomach and pulled me close. I relaxed back into his arms, my back pressed up against him and sighed against his warm body.

"Good morning." He whispered and kissed my head, his voice deep and gravely from sleep, but it sounded sexy more than anything.

"Morning." I sighed back and he wrapped his hand around mine.

"Where were you going?" He asked.

"I didn't want to wake you. We need to-"

"No." He said and shuffled closer, tightening his grip slightly. "I know what you're going to say and no."

"But we have to get up." I argued, but he wasn't listening.

"No." He replied simply.

"We can't lie in bed all day."

"Yes, we can."

"We have to go and do something."

"We are. We are cuddling."

"As cute as you saying that sounds, we still have to move."

"Five more minutes..." He replied, complaining like a teenager not wanting to get up for school.

"Fine." I said, unable to resist and snuggled back under the covers again. I sighed and he stroked my arm with his hand that was around me.

"You have any spare time today?" I asked, turning round to him and raising an eyebrow.

He smiled and touched my nose with his. "I'm sure I can fit you in somewhere."

He kissed me gently, my lips around his bottom one. I realised that our lips were both plump from all the kissing that we had done the night before as I bit his bottom lip lightly. He groaned, a sound that I was now familiar with but still made me excited to hear. I put my hands on each side of his ribs as I put my leg round to straddle him, the covers being chucked to the end of the bed.

He placed his hands on my back as we went back to kissing normally. I smiled and he pulled away from me, a smile making it's way up his face also. We took a moment to look at each other and I felt my heart flutter in my chest. I didn't deserve Steve, not one bit, but I know now that I'm not going to let him go. It seemed kind of selfish of me but I just wanted him all to myself.

"I'm gonna shower if that's okay?" he asked and I kissed his lips.

"Sure. JARVIS, what's the time?" I asked.

"10:36am, Miss Hill."

"Are the other Avengers here?"

"They are currently in the kitchen, Miss Hill."

"Thank you, JARVIS." I told him, looking up at the ceiling, and then back down at Steve with a disgusted look on my face. "Don't you think it's weird that JARVIS heard us having sex?"

"Do not worry Miss Hill." JARVIS spoke up again. "My sensors cannot hear what is happening in a room unless I am instructed to record something or my title is spoken aloud."

"Well that's reassuring." I replied and kissed Steve on the head. "Sorry I'll let you have your shower now." He smiled and kissed my cheek before I rolled off of him and let him shuffle to the end of the bed. He stood up to get some underwear from his drawers. Damn he had a good figure.

He put his boxers on and made his way to the shower. He stopped near the doorway and turned back to me. "I love you." He said and I smiled at him, sighing.

"I love you too." I said and he smiled back as he entered the bathroom. Once the door had shut, I flopped down on the bed and put the duvet covers on top of me. Wow. I mean wow. That man was brilliant in bed. It wasn't that that was the main reason I loved him but my god. The super soldier serum helped his strength which was a real aid for propping me up and I couldn't believe that he was so...powerful. He was gentle with me, of course, and was holding back slightly, but it just felt so close, so intimate. I wouldn't have wanted to share the feeling with anyone else.

I fed a hand through my hair and felt it catch on a knot there. Several knots in fact. I looked at the bedside mirror and stared at the monstrosity on my head. Okay, first task - find a hairbrush. _Oh wait, I'm not in my room. Great._ Realising that his room probably didn't have a hairbrush in, I stood up and walked over to his drawers, trying to find a tshirt to wear as I put my hair into a ponytail.

I slipped on a shirt and a pair of his boxers, because I wasn't going wear the pants that I wore yesterday. I was just about to walk out when I noticed something on Steve's desk. I hadn't seen it before, but it was a sketchbook... _Hmm...there's nothing wrong with a quick look at it._

I walked over and sat down on Steve's chair, tucking my legs underneath me. It was a sketch. A sketch of me? Steve said he could draw, but I never knew that he could draw _that_ well. He had captured me perfectly as I slept in the bed, the duvet covers just above my breasts. He must've drawn it as I was sleeping that morning, because I hadn't been with him before. I flicked to the front of the book and found pages and pages of sketches.

There was the whole Avengers team, him and the Howling Commandos, Peggy, Nat and Clint and then I noticed a familiar scene. It was me and him on our undercover mission when we were in the restaurant and kissed for the first time. We were just casually eating dinner, but I remembered it so vividly in my mind. As I flicked through, I found some more memories of us. There was me and him on the balcony having one of our chats and there were many sketches of just my face or of outfits that I was wearing on certain days. There was one of the dress that I wore for the S.H.I.E.L.D party and us sitting on the balcony afterwards too. Us kissing in the simulation room was a nice image and i could tell he put a lot of detail into one of me standing on a rock of the river fall setting with my hand extended towards the person who was looking at the picture. There was a small smile on my face in the image and I smiled myself at his dedication to his work. Another sketch was me in my suit and then finally the image of me sleeping, which made me fall in love with him a little bit more.

I left the book open and went into the kitchen. After a few minutes, I was fully equipped with everything I needed. Pan - check. Eggs - check. Cheese - check. Ham - check. Butter - check.

I put the butter in the pan and I let it bubble as I whisked the eggs. I thought it would be nice to cook Steve breakfast this morning, seeing as Tony and the government were giving him trouble. I'm sure I would be filled in on it today.

"You cooking?" He asked from behind me and I spun around as I put the eggs into the pan, the noise making me turn my attention back to the food. From my quick glance, I noticed that he was only wearing trousers and a towel wrapped around the back of his head.

"Cheese and ham omelette. Thought I could treat you."

"You're too kind to me." He said and wrapped his hand round my waist as he kissed my cheek. I felt my heart flutter in my chest and heat rise to my cheeks feeling the warm droplets of water on his chest press against my back. Even though we had sex last night, we didn't lose the connection we had of being teenagers that just wanted to be together.

"So..." I said, reaching into the cupboard for a plate, upset that we weren't so close when I did. "Last night was interesting."

"Sure was." He said, pulling me away from the cupboard and surprising me with a strong, forceful kiss that made me place the plates on the side and caused me to push against the side. He brought his hands down to my hips, pulling me closer and I placed one hand on his naked chest, the other going to the back of his neck to press him harder against me. I moaned and his fingers flinched slightly against my skin at the sound. Weaving my hands through his hair, he started kissing across my cheek and then along my jawline.

"Steve..." I gasped and he bucked against me, making me chuckle and pull his head up to kiss him once more on the lips. "Breakfast." I reminded him, turning to get the plate.

"Right. Breakfast." He said, furrowing his eyebrows. "Sorry. I just feel..."

"Drawn to me?" I asked and he nodded. I had a little thought about that. "Maybe it's because you haven't had any sexual contact for all those years, as well as those in the ice." I told him, expecting him to flinch at the mention of the ice, but he didn't. "Maybe that's the reason why you're so..." I said, pressing a light feathery kiss against his cheek as I passed him. "Needy."

He nodded. "Maybe you're right. I'm so-"

"If you apologise again..." I said, raising an eyebrow. He ducked his head in embarrassment as I chucked the omelette on the plate. "Look, I love you. You know that. You don't need to apologise for that. I have no complaints."

"No complaints about what?" He asked, confused, and I walked over to him. I kissed him gently as I loosened his towel and reached for the ends of my top. "No complaints about this." I whispered against his lips as we wrapped our arms around each other.

 **Forty minutes later**

"Damn, the eggs are cold." I told myself, inspecting the omelette. I was reminded that I was only dressed in Steve's shirt as he came into the kitchen wearing just his boxers.

"What's wrong?" He asked, noticing the frown on my face as he walked over to me.

"Look." I said, angling the pan so he could see from beside me.

"Poor omelette." He said, pouting, and kissed the side of my cheek. I placed a hand on his chest and breathed in through my nose as our lips touched. I pushed him playfully and he laughed, taking the pan out of my hands and putting the omelette in the bin. As soon as he was done, he put the pan on the side and resumed kissing me, but I placed my hands on his chest again, resisting slightly.

"What?" He asked, a small smirk on his face and I pushed him back lightly, also smiling.

"If we keep kissing all day we won't get any work done." I told, shuffling past him to get some more eggs.

"What's the problem with that?" He asked from behind me and placed his hands on my hips. I turned my head and saw his grin widen. I could see more of his perfect, white teeth and his cute smile made me almost contemplate the idea of just staying inside all day with him.

"Because I have a job, you have a job and I need to eat something or I'm going to faint." I told him and he stepped back, hands in the air.

"Fine." He said, fake-sulking and I kissed his cheek.

"Just because you haven't had sex in 90 years doesn't mean you can get out all your sexual frustrations with me all day."

His face suddenly went serious. "I didn't mean-"

"I know you didn't." I said, placing a hand gently on his arm, and looked up at his hurt face. I knew he wasn't with me because of that, but my body was tired and I think I would fall asleep on him if we slept together again. "I just haven't had much sleep and I think you know why." I said and he smiled, somewhat proudly. "As much as I would love to stay here all day, we need to go."

"Okay." He said and kissed my lips briefly before sitting down at the table.

"So have you got anything going on today?" I asked, preparing the omelette again.

"Not much. Working out, training recruits and then searching for Bucky." He said, dragging off slightly at the end of his sentence.

"You taking part in that now?" I asked. "I thought it was just Sam on the case."

"I'm doing as much as I can." I heard him say. "With Tony doing lectures at different schools about new technology, I don't have much time to help with the search as Stark isn't always available to be an Avenger." That was Tony's new thing now. He spent more time away than at the tower now, which wasn't helpful when we needed him here. "Hopefully Sam will find something though."

"You'll find him eventually." I told him, pouring the egg mix into the pan.

"What are you doing today then?" He asked and I decided to answer his question, getting the feeling he didn't want to talk about it anymore.

"Well, I'm going to find out what my job is now. I'm training recruits definitely, but the rest...it's difficult to know now that everyone thinks I'm a murderer." I said, trying to concentrate on the eggs rather than the emotions building up inside me.

The government had tried to kill me because they didn't have enough evidence against me. Surely they could've given the Avengers more time to prove my innocence. I didn't want to have a grudge against them but I did. It hurt to think that I would betray them. So now my job was to be an Avenger, not that I was complaining. Being the 'Agent' felt great, but I felt like I was dragging the team down a bit. I knew I needed to work on my skills more to improve. "So yeah. I'll be training groups, working out and maybe organising the schedules a bit more."

"You and your schedules." He said, chuckling from behind me.

"Hey. Don't hate on the schedules." I replied, shooting him a mock-glare to which he smiled at. I went to put the cheese packet that contained the cheese now on the omelette in the bin and noticed a picture on Steve's fridge. There was a photo of all of us that must've been taken a while back. I was in S.H.I.E.L.D uniform and the others in their Avengers uniforms. We were laughing in the living room together and it must've been from a movie night. I had forgotten that JARVIS could just recreate a photo from any time that we were in the tower where there was a camera.

"Maria, you're going to burn the eggs this time." Steve called, going over to the cooker and turning off the gas. My head snapped up to his and I smiled, pointing at the photo.

"Family memories?" I asked. He nodded, coming over to stand by me. I noticed his face droop a little as he looked at the photo. He walked away and I slowly put the cheese wrapper in the bin, eyeing him curiously.

"What?" I asked as he slid the omelette onto a big plate for us to share. He furrowed his eyebrows and huffed, placing the pan in the washing up bowl and turning on the tap a little violently.

"Me and Stark haven't exactly been getting along as family at the minute." He told me, grabbing some knives and forks from the cutlery draw and bringing them over to the table. I got the plate and brought it over siting next to him.

We began eating our meal in a comfortable silence and I went over what he had said in my head. "What's wrong with you two?"

"Me and Stark have never gotten along, even from our first encounter if you couldn't already tell."

I scoffed, eating a bit of the omelette we were sharing. I had to put 10 eggs in the omelette because no doubt Steve would eat more of it than me. "You can say that again." I told him and brought the food to my mouth.

"We did get along a little during Ultron's invasion, but I think that was only because of a mutual fear. After that," he sighed. "This have just been getting worse."

"Well, I jus-"

"Captain Rogers, Miss Romanoff is asking for you to meet her in the living room.

She says that the matter is about an urgent mission." JARVIS told us and me and Steve locked eyes.

"Dangerous mission?" I asked and he nodded, finishing the last of the omelette.

"Most likely." He replied, standing up and taking the plate with the cutlery to the washing up bowl.

"Be careful, okay?" I asked and he nodded. He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me into a strong, passionate kiss. I felt his lips lock around my bottom one and he put his palms against my back, pulling me closer. His sweet lips were a little wet, but just dry enough so that our lips could stay against each other's. _God, I love this._

He pulled away after what felt like only a few milliseconds, but was most likely 30 seconds. "I love you." He whispered, kissing my lips a final time.

"I love you too." I repeated before he quickly went into his bedroom to change into his Captain America outfit. I sat in the kitchen drinking my water as I heard him changing. I tried not to think about the danger that he was walking into but it was all that filled my mind. What if he got hurt? What if he never came back? I didn't have any more time to ponder as he walked back into the kitchen to grab his shield that was leaning against the kitchen wall and give me a brief kiss.

"Don't get into any trouble." He smiled, grabbing the shield and heading out the door.

I sighed and finished my drink, before heading to the door. I gathered the clothes I had left around his room the night before and decided that I didn't really want to get back changed into them. Also, I may or may not have wanted to keep Steve's shirt that I was wearing. It smelt of him and I enjoyed it, probably more than I should've.

I looked through the peephole and saw no one outside. "JARVIS, is there anyone in the hall?"

"No, Miss Hill." I nodded and quickly ran out of Steve's room and into mine. I wasn't embarrassed. I just wanted to keep our little deeper romance a secret for a little longer. I smiled to myself as I walked across to my bed. I unbuttoned Steve's shirt and placed it over the back of my chair next to the bed, before skipping happily over to the bathroom. Sleeping with Steve had definitely boosted my mood. It wasn't the fact that it was sex, it was the fact that it was with Steve, the guy i'm completely and utterly head over heels for. He was more than I could ever imagine and not just in the bedroom department either. "Is the mission going well JARVIS?" I asked as I began to undress.

"The unit will be due to arrive in half an hour, Miss." he replied and I smiled. _That gives me just enough time to shower, eat and set up the comms room._

I took a quick shower, washing away evidence from the night before (and the morning), and went to my wardrobe. I decided to wear a skin tight blue skirt and a black tank top, because it wasn't exactly like I was a Stark employee anymore and needed to dress poshly. I was an Avenger, but there weren't exactly photographers in the foyer to photograph my outfit. I put on some simple black dolly shoes and made my way towards the kitchen.

Life would've been a lot easier without having friends who were women, especially those who liked to gossip, but I liked them too much to give them up. I walked into the kitchen, said a quick good morning and went straight to the coffee machine.

"So, how was your date?" Jessica asked immediately and I turned around to raise an eyebrow at her. I noticed that the girls were all drinking tea. _Who drinks tea in the morning?_ I saw that Pepper was in a suit, ready for work obviously, but I was surprised to not see Tony with her as they usually always had breakfast together. Perhaps he was busy that morning. I noticed a bag by her chair and thought curiously about why she had it. Was she going somewhere? Hope was in her training gear, which I rarely ever saw her take off, because she was constantly in the gym unless she was eating or with Scott. Finally, Jess, who was in a similar outfit to me.

"It was nice. How was your evening out as a team?" I asked and Hope smiled.

"It isn't much of a team outing if two members are still inside." she replied and sipped her tea.

"What did you two get up to?" Jess asked, smirking. She was always one for gossip. I didn't know much about Hope, but I couldn't imagine her being the type of person to want a gossip. Pepper was not quite as excessive as Jessica, but still possessed the same need for a little bit of gossip.

"You know, the usual." I told them, grabbing a cup from the cupboard and putting it underneath the coffee machine.

"So sex or no sex?" Hope asked, raising an eyebrow. Jess almost spluttered her coffee out at the abruptness of her question, but Pepper just smiled at the woman as she shrugged. "What? I was just getting to the point. And I already know the answer anyway." I pressed a button on the machine and the coffee began to filter into my cup.

I turned to them and smiled, not looking in their eyes in fear that I might squeal with happiness like Jessica does sometimes. "If you really want to know, yes, we did." I told them, sounding a little too proud with myself. I was really happy that I slept with Steve and it's not like they would tell anyone about it.

"You did?" Pepper asked, a gleeful look emitting strongly from her wide smile and bright eyes, and I nodded. "I'm so glad for you two."

Jessica let out a small squeal, knowing that I got annoyed by her squealing too much. Hope smiled at me briefly before turning back to the paper she was reading. "You deserve each other." Jess said, reaching out to pour some more tea from the cup that was on the table. I grabbed my now full cup, turned off the coffee machine and joined the girls at the table, feeling a little odd drinking coffee whilst they all drank tea.

"Isn't he on a mission today?" Pepper asked and I nodded, a little upset about the fact that he had to leave straight after we finished having sex.

"Yeah, I'm going to observe the mission. Don't want to give up the mission observation job just yet." I told her and sipped my coffee. Yes, I did partly miss the job of watching over the missions like I always did, but I felt a little protective over Steve. I had never let the thought of him getting hurt enter my mind and I didn't have any plans to let it.

"Good morning." Scott said, entering the kitchen, his eyes mainly fixating upon Hope.

"Morning." Hope replied and gave him a small smile before he sat down next to her and she returned her eyes to the paper. I wondered what was so interesting for her to look at that she would give her boyfriend that small amount of attention. He looked a little hurt at her response, but I guess there was no confirmation that they were actually together.

"Right, I'm going to go and see what's happening with that mission." I told them and took my coffee to the communications room, but before I could leave Pepper spoke up.

"Actually, I'll come with you. I'll see you guys soon." she said to the others and waved to them all. They smiled back, Scott looking a little confused at her.

"Where are you going?" he asked and she put on a small smile that I immediately recognised was fake.

"Meetings. In New York. I've got to sort out some Stark Industries financing." she replied, repeating the words as if it was part of a speech.

"Okay." Scott said, accepting the obvious lie without a second thought.

"See you later." she smiled and stepped out of the room. We only walked a few metres before a voice spoke up from the elevator, and at the wrong timing too as I wanted to talk to Pepper about why she was lying.

"Maria? Pepper?" I heard someone call from the elevator. Our heads looked to the source of the noise and saw a young short girl there with brown hair and a suitcase in her hand. Jane.

"Oh my goodness. Hi!" I said, me and Pepper both smiling at each other with huge grins. We walked up to Jane and shared a tight hug with her. I hadn't seen her in ages. At first, me and Jane didn't get off on the best terms as S.H.I.E.L.D had just stolen all of her research back when Thor knows when. But after Selvig joined the team, we grew to knew each other as friends rather than colleagues. It must've been at least a year since we had seen each other. "What are you doing here?" I asked as we pulled away from each other. I saw the lift shut in the background.

She had a small smile on her face that fell ever so slightly when I asked the question, but quickly reemerged into the smiling Jane that I had gotten to know and always pictured when I missed her. "I'm here to visit Ian for a little while actually. Stark said it was okay for me to stay in Thor's room for the time being as it isn't being used." she said and I saw her eyes get distracted for a moment before returning to me. Thor leaving for Asgard must've been difficult on the girl as her love was literally on another planet. I felt slightly angry at Thor for doing this to Jane without an explanation. Stark hadn't spoken to me about Jane staying in Thor's room, but I'm sure he was caught up with something. I didn't want to hurt her so I acted as if I knew.

"Of course, yeah. He told me the other day. Everything should be ready in the room." I told her. Thor's room hadn't been touched since he left during Ultron's invasion, but we had the cleaner's go in there to tidy things up just incase he came back. I instructed them to leave it as untouched as possible. The demi-God sure liked to keep his room neat.

"Brilliant. Well I will catch up with you two later." she smiled and walked past us, heading towards Thor's room. I looked over at Pepper and she was already calling the lift. I looked at Pepper and she showed the small smile again. The _fake_ smile.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you leaving?" I asked. I was so confused. _Pepper never acted like this, at least I hadn't seen her like this._

"I told you." she said, looking at the floor as she waited for the lift. "I have meetings in-"

"In New York. Yes I know. I also know that that is bullshit Pep." I replied and took her hand in mine. She looked up at me and I saw tears glazing over her eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong." she said. The lift opened and Pepper hurried inside. Before the doors could shut, however, I placed my foot in the way and the elevator remained open. Why couldn't she tell me what the matter was? I cared for Pepper, she looked out for me and after me if I got in trouble, like Natasha and Wanda do.

"Pepper." I said, staring at the woman. What had made her this upset? This damaged? This wasn't just a bad day at work. I didn't understand why she had to lie and say she was going to New York for meetings when she clearly wasn't.

"There's nothing wrong." Pepper said, getting a hold of herself as her eyes no longer had the tears from before in them. "I'll be back in a few days hopefully. If I'm gone longer then don't worry."

"Worry about what? You're not telling me anything." I said, stepping backwards so I could properly face her.

"Just forget about it. I'm going to my meetings. I'll see you soon." she replied as the doors began to close.

"Pepper..." I whispered as I watched elevator doors close, her eyes staring at the floor as I let her leave. I couldn't exactly keep her here if she wasn't going to give in. I pained me to leave her, but if she wanted to leave, there was no stopping her. I sighed and ran a hand over my face, feeling the energy drain off of it. _i'm just going to go to the mission and then investigate it later._ I swiftly made my way to the comms room and sat down at the desk, tuning into the comms that the team were using. There was a beep noise to signify that I was online so they wouldn't get surprised if I spoke up at any point.

 **"Body armour. AR15's. I make 7 hostiles."** Steve said through the comms, talking to Sam. I saw Sam begin to fly around and knock out two guards.

 **"I make 5."** he replied as Scarlet Witch flew in from behind him, landing on the floor with such grace and power.

 **Hope you liked this chapter. Really enjoyed doing this and as you can see this leads into Civil War. :) PLEASE REVIEW! Haven't proof read this so please point anything out, but I am begging you to review, because I miss reviews :*( Thank you! Thought I would upload a chapter as I finished this term's exams. Got three after half term, but should be back to normal after that.**


	29. The Beginning Of The End

**Okay, so at first, I had to handle writing this with no script which was a real pain in the ass. However, the script was released this morning and that is why this is so late. Thank you for all the people who have followed. I don't get any reviews these days, so if you could, please do review, because I really appreciate them. Thank you and please point out if there are any mistakes. I wanted to get this chapter to you as quickly as possible.**

 **LONGEST CHAPTER EVER - OVER 9,000 WORDS**

 **Previous:**

 **I swiftly made my way to the comms room and sat down at the desk, tuning into the comms that the team were using. There was a beep noise to signify that I was online so they wouldn't get surprised if I spoke up at any point.**

 ** _"Body armour. AR15's. I make 7 hostiles."_** Steve said through the comms, talking to Sam. I saw Sam begin to fly around and knock out two guards from the helmet that he was wearing. All the Avenger's had cameras in some part of their armour, whether it was the clothing they were wearing or the weapons they had.

 ** _"I make 5."_** he replied as Scarlet Witch flew in from behind him, landing on the floor with such grace and power. I ought not to be frightened of how much power she had, seeing as she was my friend, but I never felt completely safe with Wanda Maximoff in the room. Ever since she infiltrated my mind, I never really felt at ease with her. _She's your friend. Stop feeling like this._

Wanda blocked the bullets directed at her and took control of the guards' body. **"Sam."** she called and Sam flew in as she chucked the body up. Using my S.H.I.E.L.D training skills, I quickly hacked into The Institute for Infectious Disease's database and brought up their security cameras.

 **"Four."** Sam replied. Steve took out another guard as Sam released RedWing to scan the building. A red scanner checked the building, beginning at the top. Redwing was Falcon's idea, but Stark helped develop it. For some reason, the thought of Stark making all these inventions did make me nervous. Tony and Steve weren't getting along recently and I couldn't help but feel annoyed at myself for not being able to help. As the days went by, I became more and more untrustworthy of Stark, my thoughts continually going back to the recklessness he had when he decided to create Ultron, almost destroying the world in the process. I focused on the screens and I could see that Rumlow was on the third floor.

 **"Rumlow's on the third floor."** I informed them as Redwing made it's way back to Sam and the team regrouped in the main entrance way. I quickly looked over the brief they were given this morning to fill myself in and them focused back onto the missions, remembering the key points that had been said.

 **"Wanda,"** Steve called, striding over to the woman with purpose, pointing at her. **"Just like we practised."** I think I had a feeling of what they were going to do, because I remember seeing them in the training room trying to get the move right a few weeks ago. A smile came to my face at the change in Wanda's attitude, once being resistant to join the team. Now she was one of the strongest members, which I was jealous of. Me and Barton weren't 'modified'. We didn't have any serums or suits to keep us protected. We had to work ten times as hard to only be a tenth as good as the other superheroes, which was irritatingly painful most of the time, but I knew that the only way to get better was to work. _God, I am distracted today._ I shook my head and returned to observing the missing, checking for any agents that were still active in the area.

 **"What about the gas?"** she asked.

 **"Get it out."** he ordered and started to run up to the building. I knew that the gas wouldn't effect Steve, but I was still worried about him. Wanda used her powers to push Steve up to the third floor and through the windows of it. He crashed into the building with his shield and I saw from the inside that he did a forward roll, quickly getting up afterwards to knock down one of the guards, taking away his oxygen mask as he did. He did a powerful kick to the man's stomach, the strength from the serum helping him, forcing the guard into the wall.

As Steve took out the rest of the guards on that floor, Wanda used her abilities to reach the gas. **"Maria, what should I do with the gas?"**

"Move so it is above the building. Keep pushing it up into the atmosphere until you can feel that it has disapperated." I informed her, checking the screens to make sure that they were recording the dialogue and video. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Falcon checking the life signs of the other agents that were unconscious on the floor.

 **"Copy that."** she replied and followed my orders, pushing the dark, unhealthy looking, green gas up towards the sky, as Falcon continued to shoot down the agents on-foot outside the building. He used his new wings, designed by Tony, to cover him as he shot. He eventually took out the guards as did Natasha, who was on the other side of the building, Falcon doing the same at another area.

I saw Rumlow on of the cameras move his arm, modifying his armour, and forcefully punch a glass door off it's hinges. "Guys, Rumlow has complex body armour. He has special contraptions on his arms that appear to be very powerful. Anyone who battles him, try and take off his arms."

 **"That seems a little extreme."** Sam retorted and I rolled my eyes.

"Shut it, Bird boy." I replied, teasing him. Sam was the funniest guy in the group. Tony had his moments, but his arrogance was higher than his humour, which was another reason why I wasn't overly fond of him. He had stopped with the name calling, but the fact that he did it in the first place hurt me. The good thing about Sam was that he had a healthy amount of arrogance, never once thinking he was _too_ good, unlike Tony who thought he was the bee's knees.

I saw Rumlow practically charging through the facility, pushing the scientists in red hazard suits out of his way, causing them to crash into various objects around the room, the others trying to scurry to leave. His men trailed behind him, standing by his side when he had reached a cabinet. He opened it, but I couldn't quite see what it was, the images on the security camera's not giving a high quality picture. "Rumlow's has taken something from the facility. Don't know what it is. Seems like a storage unit for something." I told them, but the team were all still battling guards, however I knew they would all take in the information I gave them.

People were continuing to fire at Steve and I wanted to be in the battle, helping the team. I felt so helpless in the Avengers Tower on comms. I liked being in the heat of battle, the adrenaline pumping through my veins as I took down all the bad guys. I never wanted to fashion myself into a superhero, but I couldn't help think about the idea of being on.

Steve bounced his shield off a few of the pilars in the building, skillfully hitting one of Rumlow's agents in the face. Steve kicked the man, pushing him into some crates, before catching his shield and taking down another guard, slamming him into a pilar by his leg. _Ouch. That must've hurt._

Rumlow was making his way to the back of the building and I knew what to do. "Widow, engage." I said over the comms and a moment later, Nat was coming up to the back entrance on her motorbike, looking as stylish as ever. I wondered what it would be like to be Natasha Romanoff, the beautiful hair and perfect looks. I put my thoughts of jealousy aside as I noticed Wanda finally gaining control of the gas. As she pulled it out of the building, readying herself to push it up, Falcon was fending off the enemies trying to shoot at her.

He held up his wing, using it as a shield to stop their bullets as he shot at them, but it was not good. "Falcon, mini-misiles." I told him and he nodded, turning round to tap on his arm plate, his wings protecting his back as bullets hit them. He shot the mini-missiles as they hit their targets, exploding the agents into flames. Wanda pushed the gas up, quite elegantly, and it dispersed into the atmosphere.

I saw Rumlow exiting the building, shooting a zip-wire to his getaway vehicle. "He's getting away."

 **"Rumlow has a biological weapon."** he said as Nat entered the compound. I sucked in a quick breath at what Steve had told me, my worries about the team's safety increasing, but I put those thoughts aside as Natasha's voice came through the comms unit.

 **"I'm on it."** she replied, allowing her motorbike to slide out from beneath her taking out one of the guards. She shot a widow bite at another guard, as the others loaded up the trucks, and pushed her feet into an incoming assailant. She slammed down the first guard and ran towards an agent trying to get into the escape car, but she kicked the door, knocking him out immediately.

Natasha grabbed hold of another guards gun, using it to hit him in the face. He hit the side of the vehicle and she kneed him in the groin, throwing him onto the floor as she took his gun. "Behind you." I warned her.

She spun round and knocked the gun out of an agent's hands, kicking him in the stomach to face before turning right to spin-kick another attacker's weapon out of his hands. Nat kicked him in the face, sending him down to the floor, grabbing a different guard's arm to flip him over her shoulder. For someone so small, she had incredible strength, perhaps the reason why she was one of the Red Room's best agents.

Romanoff ran up to one of the trucks to get height, before shooting a Widow bite at one of the enemies. Nine guards in under 20 seconds. **(A/N - I timed it and it was twenty seconds exactly. Heidi Moneymaker (Scarlet's stunt double) is incredible at stunts)** Romanoff certainly was impressive. She sat there for a moment, looking round to see for other threats, but she didn't notice Rumlow who was coming from behind her.

"Nat, behind you!" I shouted, leaning forward in my chair from the intense battle. But it was too late. He grabbed her by her hair and dragged her on top of a truck, Natasha doing her best to get him off of her. She punched him in the chest and hit his arm, probably remembering what I had told the team earlier. He took a hit to the face from her and a back kick, but it didn't seem to affect him at all, his armour seeming too strong.

He took a sweep at her with his left hand, but she ducked, easily getting out of his way, before punching him in the stomach. Nat punched him in his chin, his head flipping up for a second, but he grabbed her hair tightly. I wanted to shout for her, but I knew that I had to keep my mission head on.

"Crossbones is engaging with Black Widow at the back of the building. She needs help." I informed them.

She pulled out a widow bite and pushed it into his neck. I think we were both surprised when it had absolutely no effect on him. He didn't even look in pain. I had wondered whether the widow bite was malfunctioning, but Tony modified, so they would never have a problem. His complete lack of response to the attack left me with a look of confusion on my face, an expression that was undoubtedly on Natasha's face too.

 **"I don't work like that no more."** he said and pulled her backwards, causing her to yelp. He threw her into the truck and I heard her grunt from hitting the floor.

"Natasha!" I shouted. "Anyone, please. Natasha needs help. Now." I was now extremely irritated that I wasn't there to help out with the mission. Why couldn't we have just assigned more people? It wouldn't have gotten her into this situation.

My thoughts dropped out of my head when I saw Rumlow pull a grenade out of his pocket and pull off the trigger. I couldn't quite work out what Rumlow had said to Natasha, no doubt it was something cheesy, but I forgot about it as soon as he shut the top of the truck, realising that he had left her in there...with a grenade about to explode.

"Nat!" I shouted, hitting my fist against the table, worried that she wasn't going to make it out. I saw Rumlow casually walk away from the truck, meeting with some of his guards. I scowled at his image before my eyes were drawn back to the truck by the flashing light of it exploding.

Smoke piled from the back of the truck and I could just make out two figures, an agent lying next to Natasha, both of whom looked to be not moving.

 **"What was that?"** Steve asked.

"Romanoff, are you okay?" I asked, ignoring his question for the minute. I didn't mean to be rude, but Natasha was one of my closest friends. I saw her move, which put my mind at ease a little.

 **"I'm okay."** she replied, drawing a small breath of relief from my lips, and began moving again like she hadn't nearly just been blown up, but that was what we were trained to do. To carry on, no matter what.

Rumlow was now holding a gun attached to a truck that looked much more powerful that a grenade launcher. I saw Steve exit the building and Rumlow aimed it at him. _Oh my God..._

He fired a shot at Steve and it exploded against his shield, causing Steve to fly backwards from the impact. My heart beat a little faster, but I didn't call out for him as I saw Steve continued to move through the building, Rumlow firing after him, nearly hitting him each time. Every time a shot hit the building, a little gasp was pulled from my throat. I felt guilty for not insisting on going with them. Sure, the team had been through worse, but that wasn't when she was available to fight with them. Steve was thrown out of the side of the building and rolled of a rooftop, onto a truck and then finally onto the floor. "Steve!" I shouted, standing up, my chair being pushed backwards.

I heard him groan over the comms quietly and I had to regain my professional side to continue with the mission. "Captain, are you okay?" I asked to proceed.

 **"I need a minute. I'll be fine."** he whispered and I knew he was lying, that he was actually really hurting. Steve had been thrown around like some kind of doll and Rumlow was the puppeteer. Rumlow must have a lot of power to take down a super soldier and I began to worry that he was actually going to beat the team. Natasha had caught up to Rumlow by this point, but she couldn't get control over him. He was too strong.

 **"Sam, he's in the main humvee heading North."** Steve said, running towards the town, along with the others who were trying to get there too. I got up the CCTV in Lagos and saw the Falcon flying into the town, trying to locate Rumlow's men.

From the security footage, I saw the truck crash into the food market. "Sam, food market." I informed him, remembering that I saw it on the brief they looked at this morning. His men dispersed from the truck as Falcon landed on the roof, getting a clearer view of the enemy.

Using his goggles, that I could also see out of one my screen, he locked the four targets that were on the list of enemies, excluding Rumlow as his suit was a little obvious. We all knew that Steve would take on Rumlow as he was nearing his location anyway. **"I've got four, they're splitting up."** he reported as Natasha came in on her motorbike, leaving it in between two cabs and running on top of the bonnets of some cars.

 **"I've got the two on the left."** she said, running after them. I was surprised she could still walk after the explosion, but I was overly worried about her. Steve jumped across some cars and rolled over one, landing on the floor beside it. People moved out of the way, some staring in confusion and others in admiration at him. I admired him deeply, more than most. The people around him were talking in their language at him, most of which I couldn't understand. I guessed that they wanted to know what was happening.

 **"They ditched their gear."** Steve reported, staring at the exterior uniforms on the floor before looking around. **"It's a shell game now. One of them has the payload."** He hardly had time to finish his sentence as he was thrown into an even more dangerous situation. I saw bomb get thrown onto Steve's shield, which he immediately threw into the air, the bomb exploding a few seconds later.

Rumlow make his way towards Steve and I shouted for him. "Steve, behin-" My warning was too late, as Rumlow already hit him in the back with his advanced armour, causing him to crash through the side of a stall. Steve was without his shield and it made me wince knowing he was more vulnerable. **"There you are, you son of a bitch."** I heard Rumlow say, the comms only just picking up the dialogue. Steve was breathing heavily, tired from the battle that Rumlow had already put him through. He adjusted his arm as he strode towards Steve who was only just clambering to his feet.

 **"I've been waiting for this."** Rumlow said, a little louder and punched him again, this time the shot going to his chest. I tried not to get distracted by my boyfriend being beaten up and focus on the mission of finding the chemical.

I saw Falcon, Nat and Wanda running after the guards. Falcon took two of them out as Nat was still chasing them, Wanda a little further behind. She never did like running. Steve and Rumlow continued to fight as the other members of the team searched for the weapon. The men who were being targeted were running for their lives, constantly looking back to see that our team was getting closer and closer to taking them down.

Falcon flew down, kicking one of them in the chest, sending him to the ground. The second guard shot at him, but Falcon instinctively put up his wing to protect himself. He flew up, the wing still sheltering him from bullet, and kicked the second guard down. He quickly searched through the bag and I leant forward in hope that they might have the weapon.

"Falcon, is it there?" I asked and he dropped the bag, but I saw no vile in his hands.

 **"He doesn't have it. I'm empty."** he replied, mainly pointing it out for Natasha's benefit. She know knew that it was down to her to get the weapon. I knew that this would motivate her more than the normal person as she loved a challenge.

My eyes briefly flickered back to the screen that Steve and Rumlow were fighting on, my heart telling my head to continue looking at them, but I knew that Nat needed me.

 **"Out of the way!"** she shouted, running through a back street after one of the men. She went out of my view for a moment and flipped around the cameras trying to find the best shot of her.

Finally I found one and I saw Natasha jump on one of the guards, taking him down to the ground. He quickly stood up and pulled out a gun, causing people around them to scream. I wasn't worried about Nat as she had been in these dilemas too many times, only once getting distracted when Clint was being hurt, which she paid the price for with a bullet in the shoulder. She easily intercepted the gun, throwing it to the ground.

Nat continuously punches the first guard's throat, the guard stumbling backwards at each throw until another man came on the scene, also with a gun. She grabbed a basket from the market and threw it at him, temporarily stunning him for a moment. She swept him down with her shins and climbed on top of the first man's back, putting her legs round his neck. The other guard ran to help take Nat down, but as she twisted the first guard down, she grabbed the other guard and pulled him down two, all three of them landing on the floor.

"Falcon, get Redwing West." I told him and he tapped his arm, getting Redwing to fly to her position.

The first agent got up and she kicked him in the face. He crashed down to the floor and she ht the second agent. Nat punched him in the throat and leapt over him, grabbing the discarded gun on the floor. She aimed it at the second agent, the people's screams getting louder around them. People started to flee, which was good, because it meant less casualties, but there were a few afraid people that hidden behind the stalls around them. **"Drop it."** someone said and I wondered why she hadn't already shot him. I had to look at the street cameras and fix them so they were focused on the agents surrounding her. **"Or I'll drop this..."** the agent finished. _Oh God..._

He had the weapon. If he dropped that on the floor...it could cause the entire village to blow up. "Stay calm, Nat." I told her and even if my voice wasn't shaking it wouldn't have done her any good. I could feel my breaths getting faster as they passed my lips and I heard Natasha's increase too, along with her BPM count. They could kill everyone. My eyes were transfix and I couldn't seem to move my body, so worried that Natasha was going to get hurt along with all the people in the streets.

I saw Redwing come towards the agents and I snapped out of the trance, telling Nat on the comms "Redwing is coming in. Shoot him as soon as the guard with the weapon has been shot by Redwing. Then grab the biological weapon. Do it quickly." I paused for a moment, making sure the Redwing was in place. **"Drop it!"** the agent repeated.

 **"He'll do it!"** the man with the gun said. My fingers gripped on the side of the desk, my mind suddenly feeling very worried about this plan. I had debated going back on it and thinking of a different one, but there wasn't enough time. We had to act now.

"GO!" I shouted, once Redwing was in place, and the agent holding the weapon was shot by Redwing as Natasha shot the other agent down. She leapt forward to catch the weapon, which seemed to be falling in slow motion to me. My breath caught as she reached out her hand and I was shocked for a second that I thought she wasn't going to make it, but she caught the chemical and pushed herself back onto her feet in the space of a second.

I sighed in relief and put my head on the table, thanking Thor that Natasha caught the vile.

Nat turned to Redwing and said **"Payload secure. Thanks Sam."**

 **"Don't thank me."** Falcon said and I could almost see the smirk on his face from his tone of voice.

 **"I'm not thanking that thing."** Natasha replied, her voice almost filled with disgust, like a child that didn't want to eat it's food.

 **"His name is Redwing."** Sam replied, as if he were saying it for the thousandth time to her.

 **"Still not thanking it."** Natasha said, stubbornly.

 **"He's cute. Go on, pet him."** he said and I rolled my eyes, a smirk rising on my face at the stupid, yet amusing, sentimentality that he had towards his electronic sidekick.

 **"COME ON!"** I heard a voice shout from across the comms and I realised that it was Rumlow, who was still beating the shit out of Steve. Steve had hit the side of the stool, Rumlow's arm pushing him back with force.

"Rumlow's still fighting Steve. Arrest the enemy and then get to his location." I told Falcon and Black Widow before looking back at the screens, ignoring Nat and Sam still bicker in the background about Redwing.

 **"This is for dropping a building on my face."** Rumlow said, bringing me back to the main fight. He brought up a sword through his armour, nearly hitting Steve in the head with it, but Steve pulled off the arm off. I smiled slightly, happy that Steve was slowly defeating the man that I hated.

Rumlow let a blade slide from his left arm and he began attacking Steve with it, the blade only just missing him at some points. I bit my lip in anticipation and tried not to bite through it watching them fight. Steve kicked Rumlow in the stomach, sending him flying across the square into a table.

Steve strode over to 'Crossbones' as he took his mask off, tossing it aside defeatedly. Steve grabbed Rumlow by the straps on his uniform and I saw from Steve's head camera, hidden in the 'A' on his helmet, that Rumlow's face was destroyed on one side, his ears and cheek structure disfigured. I remembered how much pain he must've gone through from the attack in DC and Steve must've felt sorry for him. I actually felt a small amount of pity for him, but it soon disappeared when I remembered that he was HYDRA and he killed S.H.I.E.L.D agents, some of which were close friends of mine. Steve wasn't like me though. No matter if someone was his enemy...if they were hurt...he would feel guilty about it.

 **"You know, I think I look pretty good, all things considered."** Rumlow said and Steve shook him once to get his attention.

 **"Who's your buyer?"** Steve asked, voice controlled and authoritative. Rumlow stared up at him, a small smile playing on the sides of his face.

 **"You know he knew you."** he began and I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. What was Rumlow talking about? **"Your pal, your buddy, your bucky."** he taunted and I felt my jaw tense at his words. Steve pulled him closer to his face in a threatening way. _Bucky...did he just say Bucky?_ I couldn't even imagine how Steve felt in that moment. He had been searching for months to try and find Bucky with very little success, only finding fragments of information and now here he was, the enemy saying that he had talked with him. My eyes flickered on the heart monitor's of everyone and noticed that Steve's heart rate had increased, not that he would let it show in front of Rumlow. Infact, they had all increased, not as much as Steve's though. I hadn't even realised that Natasha and Sam had stopped talking, completely focusing on the conversation between Steve and Crossbones.

 **"What did you say?"** Steve asked, his voice slightly lacking the control that it had only moments ago. His tone was deep and daring, but I couldn't help but think about his mind processing the news about his best friend.

 **"He remembered you."** Rumlow repeated, taunting Steve, and I couldn't help but speak up on the comms.

"Focus Steve." I told him, but he wasn't listening to me. "Steve." I said a little louder, but he was too transfixed on what Rumlow was saying to realise I was talking to him.

 **"I was there. He got all weepy about it."** he added, my frustration building in my body. Bucky was Steve's best friend and Rumlow was just taking the piss out of him. It made me want to abandon my station and go to kill Rumlow myself, not just because of the taunting, but because of the innocent people he had killed in DC. I never forgave him for that. No one did. _God, I hate HYDRA._ **"Till they put his brain back in a blender."** he added. **"He wanted you to know something. He said to me, 'Please tell Rogers...when you gotta go, you gotta go...'"** I saw something in his hand move.

"Steve! Watch out!" I shouted, but it was too late.

 **"And you're comin' with me."** he snarled and Steve looked down at the device in his hand. Rumlow pressed the button and I gasped loudly thinking that it was the end for them, but Wanda trapped him in a ball of energy just in time. I breathed a sigh of relief, but knew that she actually had to get the explosion away from the people, knowing that she wouldn't be able to hold it there for long. Rumlow screamed in agony at the pain from the fire exploding around him and I had to think of something quickly.

"Wanda, push the energy up. We need it away from civilians. Don't hit the buildings around you." I said and she pushed the energy up towards the sky. However, I could see her struggling to contain it and she groaned from the strain of holding the explosion, which caused something dreadful. The beginning of the end...

The bomb exploded into the side of a building and I gasped at the damage. One of my camera's switched off, one that must've been attached to the building, and I flicked to another. Smoke was pouring out of the building, along with desperate screams of the dying. A bright yellow flame was coming from the inside, pieces of paper and debris falling from it, and I felt my heart ache at the guilt that Wanda must've felt.

 **"Oh my..."** Steve whispered, breathlessly, as Wanda put a hand over her mouth from the shock. The people in that building...I couldn't even imagine the casualties caused. There had to have been deaths from it though. Many deaths.

"W-wanda..." I whispered over the comms, but I just heard her sobs in reply. "Wanda, we...we have to get you out of there okay..." I said, but they were both too shocked by the explosion to realise that I was talking. "Steve!" I shouted and he snapped out of his trance, replying to me, but not taking his eyes off the building.

 **"Yeah?"** he said, sounding tired. I selected a single communication line, so that me and him could talk alone.

"People in the streets aren't going to fans of the Avengers right now. We need to get her out of there." I told him, getting my working head on. I was completely devastated by the destruction Wanda had caused, but people may even try and kill her now that it had happened...I cared about Wanda too much to let that happen.

 **"Sam..."** Steve began, holding a hand up to his ear. **"We need...fire and rescue..."** The words were coming out, but they didn't have any energy in them. He was shocked. We all were. **"On the south side of the building."** he added, sounding a little more confident as he also put his head into work mode. However, he wasn't just facing the guilt from himself...he was facing the rage of the people in Lagos.

I heard over the comms that people were shouting at the two left staring at the building. I knew a little of the language they were speaking and they weren't saying anything good. "We've gotta get up there." Steve said, but a bottle was thrown at his feet, causing him to stumble back to where he was.

I noticed a man pushed Wanda onto the floor and started shouting at her. After a few seconds, more and more people joined in, realising that she was the cause of the destruction. She created a bubble around herself, sitting on the floor in the fetal position as people tried to break the dome that she had created. She was crying to herself and the angry citizens punched against the dome.

 **"These people aren't going to stop, we'll need Vision here."** Steve replied, walking towards Wanda before a bottle was thrown at him, smashing against his leg. Wanda had noticed this and lifted her arms so that Steve was protected from the abuse also. All my anger of Wanda blowing up the building was now replaced with sympathy for her. She wasn't in control.

 **"I've called them."** Sam said, his voice not the same upbeat tone that it usually was.

"JARVIS, get Vision to visit me immediately. It's urgent." I said, checking the screens for the other Avengers. I suddenly felt very breathless from watching the screens and seeing all those people abusing the two Avengers that were just trying to save people. Distracting myself, I switched back to all comm units. "Nat, Falcon, are you guys okay?" I asked as I saw them urgently walking through the streets, Falcon carrying a bag with Natasha beside him.

 **"We're fine."** Sam whispered, quietly. **"The wings and other weapons have been safely stashed. We're going to the rendezvous point as planned."**

"What about the bike?"

 **"Can't risk someone seeing us. We saw what's happening the Wanda and Steve and we don't have her to protect us from the abuse."** Nat replied.

"I'll get it picked up. Did you see what happened?" I asked them, switching to a private line with the two of them, so Wanda didn't hear us talking about her.

 **"It was Wanda, wasn't it..."** Falcon said and I sighed.

"Yes. Yes, it was." I told her, a painful feeling spreading through my chest as I watched people continue to abuse the energy bubbles surrounding Wanda and Steve.

 **"I don't think she will ever had full control of her powers."** Nat responded as they entered an abandoned building that we were going to meet at. The thought of Wanda never getting control of herself actually made me quite upset.

"The bike is being picked up as we speak." I said, sending a text for the extra agents to 'retrieve the motorbike from the town _discretely_ '. "Stay put." I said and went back to full comms. Vision came through the wall and stood next to me. His eyes went directly to the screen and focused on Wanda. I saw his features change for a moment, his eyebrows furrowing at her discomfort, and it made me wonder whether the robot cared for the witch more than just a friend. Fury and Stark had given me a debrief on each of the Avengers when I became their handlers and they had explained to me that he wasn't supposed to have feelings. Perhaps they were wrong.

"I thought your data-banks would've have kept you updated on the news, but I'm guessing not." I said, gesturing to the screens.

"I did not get the latest news about Wanda destroying the building." he replied, concluding that that is what had happened, a softness to his voice.

"Nothing can get through those energy shields apart from you. I need you to quickly travel here and get Wanda and Steve. Black Widow and Falcon are getting onto the plane as we speak." I said, noticing that the two agents were boarding the small helicarrier. I turned on the comms for them. "Falcon, Black Widow. Tell the pilot that you can leave immediately. Widow, get seen by medical on the helicarrier. No arguments. Captain America and Scarlet Witch are travelling back with Vision and will meet you on the way home."

I turned to Vision. "How quickly can you get there?"

"1 minute and 13 seconds." he replied and I thought he was joking, but the serious look on his face told me otherwise.

"Go immediately." I told him and he nodded, quickly fading through the wall. I turned back to the screens and saw the helicarrier taking off, taking Nat and Falcon back to the Avenger's Tower. My attention turned to Steve and Wanda.

Wanda was keeping her shields up strong, but I could tell that she was weakening, the emotional stress getting to her. Steve was holding his side no doubt a injury he gained from being blown out of the window of the IFID building earlier. He was staring at the people that were bashing against the red energy dome he was incased in. He was staring at these people, not trying to calm them down or talk with them...he just stared at them.

"Steve, are you alright?" I asked, quietly. From what I could see on the cameras, he seemed to be in a daze, spaced out from the situation at hand. I didn't get a response. I thought I wasn't going to get one at all.

 **"Bucky..."** was the only word he whispered in reply. Bucky. James Buchannon Barnes, his best friend that was wanted by top organisations and I couldn't imagine how hopeless Steve felt not being able to do anything about it. His voice sounded so fragile, so breakable, and my head ached at the loss of not having him in my arms. As soon as he got back, that's what I was going to do. I just wanted to hold him.

 **"Arriving at the location."** Vision said and I saw on the video, him floating down to Wanda's side. Some of the people surrounding her moved out of the way, shocked by the spectacle, but most of the crowd continued to abuse the energy ball.

"No, Vision. Attend to Steve first. Wanda may not be able to keep his shield up if she is far away from him." I told him and he hesitated before going over to Steve, phasing through the bubble and pulling him away from the crowd. More people surrounded Wanda, her dome stronger from not needing to protect Steve, as Vision took Steve to a rooftop away from the chaos.

Vision returned for Wanda once Steve was safe and entered the red energy dome around her. **"You're safe now, Wanda."** he said to her.

 **"I'm not."** she whispered. Vision didn't say anything else, understanding that Wanda didn't mean physically safe, but mentally safe. She couldn't control herself. She wasn't safe as a person.

Vision flew up to where Steve was, grabbing him too and made him way back to the tower, his speed slower than before as he caught up to the helicarrier. I sighed and sat back in the chair, leaning against it in defeat. How could it have gone worse? People were dead. Many people. The damage to the building would be costly, but that would be nothing to the damage of the Avenger's reputation. Even though it felt bad to think about, I had to plan strategically, rather than consider how the people related to the dead must've felt. _How were the Avengers going to put a positive spin on this disaster?_

Wanda was an issue, that much was clear. She was considered a threat to other people and she was a threat to the whole word, which broke my heart to think about, but it was true. After spending a few minutes thinking about how the public was going to react, I went into the kitchen to try and find the rest of the team. I found Clint and Jessica sitting at the table laughing about something. Clint saw me and smiled briefly before seeing my concerned look and dropping his smile immediately.

"Ria, what happened?" he asked, standing up and walking over to take my hands in his, the nickname slipping off his tongue without realising. Him forgiving me for being Black Death meant a lot to me and I was happy that we were back to be being siblings again.

"I need everyone in here immediately. It's an emergency." I told JARVIS. Clint looked at me strangely as the others began to file into the kitchen.

Jane walked into the kitchen followed by Rhodey, Scott and Hope. "What's wrong?" Hope asked, taking a seat next to Jessica and looking up at me expectantly. I looked around the table and noticed that someone wasn't in attendance. It wasn't a rare case for Tony not to be at a meeting, but I did tell JARVIS that it was urgent.

"JARVIS, where is Stark?" I asked, impatient and a little fed up with Stark constantly being late for everything.

"Mr. Stark has told me that he wishes not to see anyone at present." _What? Why?_ My thoughts went to Pepper leaving the tower earlier and I wondered whether something had happened between them.

"Well, we will just have to continue without him. Send him the information I am talking about, please JARVIS."

"Of course, Miss Hill." he replied and I searched up the latest news articles on one of the kitchen tablets. I also brought up the mission briefing to present to them all.

"I'm sorry to say that there has been an accident on the mission that the team went on this morning in Nigeria." I informed them, looking round to see their confused reactions so I continued as I tapped on the tablet, getting his profile up on the kitchen table's place-mats for everyone to see. "Brock Rumlow, otherwise known as 'Crossbones' was looking for revenge on Rogers, because during the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D, Steve hurt him. Pretty bad. Completely damaged the left side of his face. The mission was going okay, the biological weapon Rumlow was trying to steal was retrieved and we were winning. That is until...Rumlow tried to blow the place up."

"Oh my God, are they okay?" Jessica asked, a hand clasping over her mouth when she had finished. No doubt she was thinking about Sam, but the other members of the team she had also gotten close to, especially the women of the group.

"Is Nat alright?" Clint asked, eagerly. I would've laughed at his adorable caring nature for Natasha, but I couldn't find the energy to. I would be telling her about him asking about her tonight though. Maybe it would make her smile.

"Everybody is safe. They are all of their way back. Natasha is getting checked out by medical, as is Steve. They took a few hits, nothing serious, but they are still getting looked at." I informed them, which relaxed them a little.

"There's something you're not telling us. You wouldn't gather us in here just to tell us that. What is it?" Clint asked, his spy intellect coming to hand. They were all looking down at the table, staring at the information being given to them.

"Wanda." I replied and Clint's head was the first to rise. It was more like it snapped up actually, his brotherly protection of her showing clearly. Wanda and Clint were very close, Clint almost replacing Pietro. Almost. Clint would never be the same thing Pietro was to Wanda, but he sure as hell helped her with the pain of losing her brother.

"What's wrong with Wanda?" Clint asked, his tone filled with urgency and worry that he always.

It took me five minutes to explain what had happened. The infiltration, Steve and Rumlow, trying to find the weapon and then..."Steve didn't realise that Rumlow had a detonation device on him." I explained to them, their eyes changing from me to the screen and then back to me again. "When he set it off, it was going to blow up the whole street, but Wanda intercepted it. The power of the explosion...was too much for her to hold. I told her to push the explosion up to get it away from the civilians, but..." I did feel guilt for that. I told her to push it upwards, I didn't exactly give her any help on how to control the energy of push it to another place. However, I did know that there was nothing either of us could've done.

"Nothing could've been done on either of our parts to contain the explosion. When she lifted it into the air...she lost control. it resulted in the side of a building exploding." I said, softly as i stared down at my own tablet, not wanting to meet their eyes as I pretended to scan read something on the screen. "They are on their way back now."

"Wanda did this?" Hope asked and my eyes shot to hers. She sounded angry at the fact that Wanda had killed all these people, but it wasn't entirely her fault.

"She couldn't control it." I replied, but that didn't seem to settle Hope. "I want you to know that Steve and Wanda received abuse from the public. Wanda protected herself and Steve, but they are in a pretty bad way. They need support from everyone here."

"She has just killed these people, Hill. That isn't something to be taken lightly." she informed me and I grit my teeth, trying not to get irate with her. She reminded me of my old-self. I was going to let it pass, because of that, but remembered that doing the safest thing isn't always the right thing.

"We haven't had problems in the past. This is the first occurance."

"But you'll admit she can't control her powers?" Hope asked and I couldn't lie to her.

"No, not fully. She is a vital member of this te-"

"She just caused an explosion. She should not be in the field with no control of herself." she near-shouted. Scott attempted to put his hand on her arm to calm her down, but she yanked her arm away from him in frustration.

"We need to remember the enemy here." I reminded them as I shoved the tablet onto the table, the words pouring out of my mouth. "Rumlow. HYDRA. Terrorists. Anyone else who wants to destroy the world we live in. You can either be with that or against it." I told her. My emotions were slightly clouding my judgement, but I wasn't ready to deal with Hope's bullshit. The team had been through hell and she hadn't been there defending it, we had.

"I'm taking time-off." she said, glaring at me, before pacing towards the bedrooms.

"Hope..." Scott called after her and looked at me. "Can you give me a minute?" he asked and I nodded, letting him follow after the woman.

"When should they be here?" Jane asked, turning her head from the direction Hope and Scott had left in to me.

"I would say 10 minutes, but maybe earlier. JARVIS?"

"The plane has currently just landed on the roof, Miss Hill." he replied and I nodded, realising that they must've switched to super-jet mode, because of Wanda. She needed to come home and, to be honest, she didn't need Hope here to aggravate her. I hoped that she would stay in her room until Wanda was in her own or at least away from Hope.

I got a drink from the side and took a sip before hearing the elevator arrive, the others turning their heads to the sound along with my own looking towards it. The five of them were standing there, all covered in dirt apart from Vision who still had Wanda in his arms.

Natasha and Sam were the one's who exited first, Natasha carrying Steve's shield in her hand and Sam carrying Redwing in his hands. They gave me a small nod and I nodded back. Nat hugged Clint tightly and he kissed the side of head quickly, before she released him to go and look greet Wanda.

Clint ran towards Wanda and gathered her in his arms before whispering in her ear. She looked incredibly limp in his arms and she soon had to be given back to Vision, so that he could pick up her. She was shaking and little shocks of red energy were releasing from her skin.

My eyes drifted to Steve. His head was hung low and shoulders were relaxed, but his jaw was tight and I could see that he was having an debate with himself in his head. His suit had scratch marks on it from Rumlow's assaults and his face had a small scratch, which might have been from the blade Rumlow had. His hair had little pieces of debris in them from where he hadn't bothered to get rid of them. There were little lines of blood on the left side of his face that had dripped onto his suit, a small, red damp patch was sitting just below his shoulder. I had never seen him look so defeated in his life. I wanted to run up and wrap my arms around his neck, hold him close and kiss all his worries away, but I knew that if I ran up to him now he would probably fall over from the impact.

I slowly walked up to him as he walked from the elevator, being the last one to exit, and he stopped in front of me when I got to him.

"Steve." I whispered and placed a hand on his dusty cheek before weaving my arms around his neck. I didn't feel his arms move to hug me, but he must've been in shock from finding out about Bucky. He hadn't heard anything about him in ages. I withdrew my arms, knowing that he wasn't going to respond to the hug, and placed my right palm against his face again, hoping to comfort him. To my surprise, he took hold of my right wrist and softly pulled my hand away from his face. I wondered what he was doing until I saw the pain in his eyes. His grip was gentle, but not in a sweet way, and his eyes were staring holes in the floor.

I didn't understand why he didn't want me to help him. "Steve, you can talk to me..." I whispered, looking into his distracted eyes that were brimming with tears.

"I want to be alone." He replied softly and dropped my wrist, quickly striding past me to the direction of his bedroom. I took a step, debating whether to go towards him or not, but withdrew it, wanting to respect his wishes to be alone. _Was he putting Bucky above me?_ I didn't care about it and I hadn't really expected anything else, seeing as Bucky was his childhood friend. It had been two years since Bucky's last appearance. Who knows what had happened to him. We knew that he was a wanted man, but most likely not under the power of HYDRA. However, that didn't put Steve's mind at rest. We had to find him.

"He just needs time." someone said behind me and I turned to see it was Natasha. She was now sitting on the living room sofa, holding one side of her body as Clint tended to her head injuries. The pair were almost too good of a couple together. He was holding her head tenderly with one hand as he treated the other side, causing Natasha to wince once or twice from discomfort. I guessed that Wanda had gone with Vision to calm her down. The mind-stone worked in mysterious ways. Sam must've gone to tend to his oh-so-precious bird wings.

"How can you be so sure?" I asked, walking over to her.

"Because I've known Steve longer than you. He will be sulking for an hour or two and then walk out the door bursting with apologies for you, trying to make up for being such an ass." She explained and Clint nodded.

"True, true." He agreed as he moved round to the other side of Natasha's head.

"Alright." I replied and turned my head at Natasha. "Am I okay leaving the Hawk to tend to your wounds?" I asked and she looked up at Clint with a grin on her face.

"Yeah, as long as he doesn't mess up my stitches to make me lose even more blood." she replied, narrowing her eyes as Clint rolled his, a smirk coming onto his face also. I think I remembered him mentioning it to me. It was a mission in Budapest I think.

"It was one time." he told us and Nat laughed. I left them in each other's company as I made my way back to the computers, trying to figure out a way to clear up the mess that had been made. I had no idea it would be only the beginning of my problems.

 **Please review this chapter, because it took me FOREVER to finish, it's over 9,000 words and because of the new announcement below!**

 **EXCITING ANNOUNCEMENT: I will now be introducing one-shot Wednesday where each Wednesday I will write and publish a fanfiction in one day. That's right - ALL IN ONE DAY! So please put in a review which characters you would like me to pair up or just do a general story on. This would be great if it takes off and that would mean that I would be writing YOU your very own story. Can't wait! Please review with your characters and ideas!**


	30. The Aftermath

**Okay so responses to reviews...**

 **xnite05 - Wow! Thank you for that response. Also, I will go ahead and redo that error that I made. I was kinda writing like wildfire and not really checking as I wrote like 9000 words! Yeah one-shot Wednesday should be fun. I have my first one up about Tony Stark in Civil War and his relationship with Pepper as well as dealing with the fact that he has 'murdered' someone's son. So yeah, check it out :) I don't really know much DC stuff, but if I get the chance to do some, you will be the first one to know. Check out my Pietro Maximoff series which is including four different ships, all being published in chronological order. Complicated, I know, but hopefully it will work out. Just published Falcon and another character on my story so please follow my page, because then you will get the updates for all of my news stories, including some one-shot (maybe DC) and some other stories I have hidden away. Thank you so much for your review though and please keep at it!**

 **Whoever the guest was - Thank you for the review! Hopefully you will like this one. I thought I would add in some of my own scenes as well as include other things that have happened in the MCU. For example, this chapter includes WHIH broadcasts, which you can find on Youtube about Civil War.**

 **daughter-of-the-muses - Thank you! I love the fact that you have stuck by this fanfiction. I will be updating more often now that exams are over and I have a (mostly) free schedule. I really love the support that you have given though, thank you! Hope you like the links in Civil War!**

The internet had gone mad. Chaos. Absolute chaos. The newsfeed on Facebook was filled with posts either about how much the Avengers were hated or about the lost people from the battle against Crossbones. I wish the public could see it from our perspective. Some of them did, but the death count was way too high this time. After the amount of money that was lost after Sokovia, the government and the world weren't exactly pleased with us. I was fed up with fighting against the government, but all considered, I didn't want to join them either.

It had been about two hours that I had spent scrolling through the feeds on the internet, finding different stories arguing for and against the Avengers use, many suggesting that a law should be put in place to ban Wanda Maximoff from attending Avengers missions. They could not lock Wanda away like that. It wasn't her fault. We trained her the best we could and it wasn't as if she didn't try her best. The explosion was too powerful for her.

WHIH had a lot to say on the matter, as usual. Christine Everhart was one of the most persuasive people on the planet and unforunately...she had a lot of listeners. There were other reports in the papers and many articles online.

 _ **AVENGERS IMPACT: A WHIH Newsfront Special Report - The World The Hero Leaves Behind**_

 _ **Everhart:**_ _I'm Christine Everhart. This week on a special addition of Newsfront 'The World The Hero Leaves Behind'. What is the final cost of intervention from groups like the Avengers? Who do they answer to in the wake of their actions?_

They continued to small talk for a while, obviously hating each other's guts and pretending to be 'friends that disagreed'. You could feel the hatred they had for each other cracking through the glass television screen. I waited until the real conversation started again.

 _ **Everhart:**_ _Our super-powered advocates have intervened time and time again in international incidents to great effect. But who accounts for the devastation they leave behind?_

 _ **Will Adams:**_ _Well, the question for me Christine, isn't if or even should our heroes be allowed to operate independently. It's why shouldn't they? Discoveries are still being made in the massive cache of classified material released by former S.H.I.E.L.D agent, Natasha Romanoff._

Even thought Natasha did release all of that information online, I was still proud of her. I don't think I would've had the courage or brains to think of that, but she did it and exposed HYDRA for who they really were, taking down S.H.I.E.L.D in the process. I smiled at the mention of one of my closest friends, even if it was in the midst of a crisis.

 ** _Will Adams:_** _And the leak clearly details how the organisation, known as HYDRA, was able to infiltrate the highest ranks of S.H.I.E.L.D and had organised a massive conspiracy on the civilian population. Romanoff's actions, independent from oversight, saved us from what could have been a catastrophic outcome had HYDRA been able to remain undiscovered._

I actually found myself nodding in agreement with the man on the screen. Natasha did save us and it was a debt that the world owed her. She was a prime example of why the Avengers need to be independent from the government. They have too many constrictions.

 _ **Christine Everhart:**_ _Romanoff's actions, along with the actions of Steve Rogers and Tony Stark and others, over the years may have been admirable._

Oh, shut up Everhart...

 _ **Will Adams:**_ _Their actions saved hundreds of thousands of lives._

 ** _Christine Everhart:_** _But that's not the question. We are talking about the collateral damage. This week in our ongoing special report, we'll look back on the events in New York, DC, Sokovia, asking you, the viewer, if the growing concern from governments around the world, should see the Avengers submit to international oversight. Or if they should remain free to act independent from government regulation._

 ** _Will Adams:_** _I'll look forward to you trying to convince me that anything they've done is less than admirable._

 ** _Christine Everhart:_** _You'll look forward to me winning._

I couldn't listen to the woman any longer. I tapped a button lightly on the panel in front of me and immediately switched off the screens in front of me, leaving me in darkness apart from the few dim lights around the room.

I sighed to myself and looked up at the ceiling, not really knowing why I did so, but I found it easier to address JARVIS that way. "JARVIS?" I called.

 _"Yes, Miss Hill?"_

"Are there any recent news reports about Lagos?" I asked, hoping that the world would just go quiet for a few seconds, but of course it didn't.

 _"WHIH World News has released another report."_ JARVIS replied and I hit my head against the table.

"Bring it up. It's the last one I'm looking at and then I'm going to bed." I told him and he followed my orders. I saw Everhart's face on the screen again and it made me want to punch it.

 ** _Christine Everhart:_** _It's been several hours since the incident in Lagos, Nigeria. Information is sparse and the full extent of the damage is still unknown. Newsfront correspondent, Jackson Norris, arrived in Lagos moments ago, and he joins us now. Jackson?_

The screen switched to that of a photo of Jackson Norris, stating that he was on the line, and some video footage of Lagos...focusing on the damage that had been inflicted upon the citizens living there. I saw the devastation on Steve's face, which made me want to go to him and hug him until he burst, but I then remembered that Natasha told me to wait, saying that he was still recovering from hearing about Bucky.

 _ **Jackson Norris:**_ _Christine, I'm a few yards away from where the conflict took place. It's still chaotic, several witnesses are confirming that members of the Avengers and unknown combatants were here at the time._

 ** _Christine Everhart:_** _Now, Jackson, which Avengers were there exactly. Tony Stark?_

I almost laughed at the suggestion. I remember her and Tony had a 'thing' back in the day, but that wasn't the reason why I felt it necessary to laugh. Tony hadn't been on a mission in quite a while and was still locked away in his lab, not really talking to anyone. I reminded myself to go and speak to him and ask why Pepper was so upset about leaving earlier.

 ** _Jackson Norris:_** _Captain Rogers' involvement has been mentioned and corroborated. Some accounts indicate Sam Wilson and Natasha Romanoff, but nothing else definitive at this time._

 ** _Will Adams:_** _Do we know why the Avengers were in Lagos? What thread initially brought them there._

 ** _Jackson Norris:_** _Well, that is still unconfirmed. There was also an incident at a military compound. Local media speculation is pointing towards former S.H.I.E.L.D agent and now mercenary, Brock Rumlow._

 ** _Christine Everhart:_** _Well, given the extent of Rumlow's crimes, are you thinking he was the Avenger's likely target._

 ** _Jackson Norris:_** _Again, it's hard to say._

 ** _Christine Everhart:_** _Okay, I'm sorry. Just um...Jackson, let me interrupt you. Breaking news in from Washington, we now go live to the Whitehouse, were President Ellis is speaking._

The news that President Ellis was addressing the nation about Lagos didn't really surprised me, but I hoped that he wasn't going to disband the Avengers for their actions.

 ** _President Ellis:_** _Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen. I've just been briefed on the developing situation in Lagos, Nigeria. Secretary Ross has contacted their President and assured him that we will do whatever it takes to support our friend and ally. It is crucial that we unite and stand together to ensure that peace and security prevail over chaos and fear. The coming days, my administration will work directly with United Nations to find the people responsible for this catastrophe and hold them accountable to the full extent of the law. With courage and with compassion, the international community will help support Largos during their time of need. Thank you and may God bless._

I wasn't sure whether it was good or bad that he didn't mention the Avengers, but he seemed to get the message out that it was Rumlow responsible rather than the Avengers. Let's just hope the rest of the world sees it that way.

 _ **Christine Everhart:**_ _Well, that was President Ellis moments ago, live from the Whitehouse issuing a very strong statement about the Avengers_

 ** _Will Adams:_** _Now, Christine, where you heard a strong statement about the Avengers, I heard President Ellis saying that we need to rally with our allies to support the people that are trying to protect the planet and that is the Avengers. That's who we need to actually look to to protect us in situations like this._

Their bickering went on for a while, interrupting each other every moment that they could. I was glad that Will Adams was fighting our corner. I recognised him on previous news reports and made a mental note to send flowers to his house to thank him for his support.

I sat in my chair for a while, the screens all off. The dimmed lights above me allowed me to see all around the room, but didn't make me feel uncomfortable. I wanted to see Steve. Even though Natasha told me to wait, I decided to see him anyway.

I exited the room and headed down the corridor, making my way towards the bedrooms. I noticed Jess on the phone, looking calm and confident on the phone as she strut down in heels, firmly holding some files in her hands. She looked like a copy of me and I smiled at her willingness and capability to take on the role as new head of the Avengers. She smiled as she walked past me, reminding me that she wasn't quite the same as the old me, because she had Sam along with a whole range of emotions, most that included the reaction of squealing.

I strode past the living room, hoping that nobody would stop to bother me about Lagos, when I saw Natasha sitting on the couch with Clint. "You going to see him?" she called without even needing to turn around. _Man, she was good._

"Yeah, I thought it would be best to visit him rather than wait." I replied and she turned placing her arms on the back of the couch.

"Fairplay. Just...don't be too hard on him..." she teased and smirked before turning around to face the television screen hanging against the windows. I smiled back at her even though she wasn't looking at me, though Natasha being Natasha she probably knew that I did so anyway.

I continued my journey down the corridor, trying to put everyone else's problems to the back of my mind and focus on Steve's. I reached his door and found myself staring at the shield symbol on the front for a few moments. Tony had his suit, Thor had his hammer, Clint had his bow and arrows, Natasha had her batons. They all had attack weapons. It was only in that moment that I remembered Steve had a defence weapon, protecting him from the bullies that would strike up in his path.

Laying my fingers against the door handle, I suddenly felt a little unsure about whether the go into his room or not, but made the decision to enter anyway. I cautiously crept into Steve's room, not seeing him anywhere. "Steve..." I called out gently, wondering whether he was awake or asleep. I didn't want to wake him up, because he probably needed his rest.

I opened the door to his bedroom and found him staring up at the ceiling, not moving his head to look at me when the door opened. "You okay?" I asked, softly, shutting the door and making my way over to his bedside when I realised that he was awake.

I reached my hand out and placed it against his cheek before allowing it to weave through his hair, the softness of it tickling my hand. "I'm okay." he replied, shutting his eyes as I continued to thread my hand through the blonde strands. "I'm just shocked...almost as shocked than when I was back in DC."

I sighed and shut my eyes, remembering that Sam had told me he had broken down after the events of HYDRA being inside S.H.I.E.L.D the entire time. Arguing with Steve, Bucky, me - this man certainly had a lot to deal with. "If you don't want me here, then just say." I told him, hoping that he would feel his stress levels decrease at the thought of there being no pressure on our relationship.

He opened his eyes, his blue ones staring straight into mine like they were a lifeline to him. He always looked at me so passionately, but also like I was the most fragile thing in the world, worried that I was going to break at any moment. I didn't mind his compassion, the emotions that I had gained feeling the equal amount of compassion towards him, but I was worried that one day, he would stop looking at me like that. I would never stop looking at him with adoration.

He shook his head softly, his eyes linked with mine, and placed him hand on my forearm, his warm fingers radiating through the fabric and onto my skin. "Can you lie next to me?" he asked and I nodded.

"Whatever you need." I replied and he stood up as I pulled the covers back. We were in our clothes, but I kind of enjoyed being in bed with clothes on and I felt like he didn't have the energy to change. Steve climbed in first and I noticed that he had changed out of his uniform into some plain black workout trouser and one of his many grey tops. I looked over and saw the suit lying by the door, along with his shield that was carelessly lying next to it. I follow him into the bed, pulling the covers up around us. He put his left arm out and hooked it around me as soon as I had shuffled up next to him, my left hand splayed against his chest and my head tucked neatly into his neck. I subconsciously drew patterns against it, not knowing that Steve was loving the feeling of my nails against him.

I closed my eyes, but felt Steve shift me up in his arms, our heads levelling with each other. Before I could even open my eyes and to see his face, I felt strong, yet tender, kisses being placed along my jawline and then down my neck, causing me to gasp at his sudden change in interest. I kept my eyes shut, revelling in the feeling of his hot lips touching and sucking against my skin, and moved my hands to weave through his hair again.

"Steve..." I whispered and then gasped as he began to unzip the front of my uniform. The sound of the zipper pulled me back to reality and I wondered about what his motive was, not that it was a bad thing, but it didn't seem very gentlemanly of Steve. "Why are you doing this?" I asked, sincerely, not trying to sound like I didn't want it too, because after Steve's kisses, I definitely did.

"I need you. I just...I need you close to me." he replied, his pleading eyes making me understand how he felt. He felt as if everyone was slowly being taken away from him and I didn't want to stop him from getting some form of closure on the situation, whether it be sitting there and hugging him or having sex with him to make him feel like he had people there for him. I knew that he wouldn't take advantage of me and I trusted him. Whatever he wanted...

"Yeah, of course." I said and pressed a soft kiss to his lips before I let him continue to zip down my suit.

About an hour later, we were lying naked in each other's arm, eyes shut and listening to the silence of the room. Wanting to break it, I struck up a conversation that hopefully wouldn't get him too angry. "Are you and Tony getting along any better?" I asked, wrapping my arm a little tighter around him.

"Not particularly. He just doesn't seem to see sense." he said, sighing, and pulling me closer to him. My head rested against his chest with our arms wrapped around each other and our legs comfortably placed between each other's.

"Well, if it helps, I'm on your side." I said, kissing his cheek and smiling at him as he chuckled.

"What? Team Captain America?" he asked, nuzzling his nose into my hair, sniffing it as he did.

"Go team." I dead-panned and he laughed at me even more. Suddenly, he spun us over, his naked body on top of mine, and said "I love you." before forcefully crushing his lips to mine as he pushed himself into me again.

 **A few weeks later**

I was watching the news, listening to a story about Wanda, when I realised that she was probably going to be the one that was mostly damaged by the situation. Me and Steve were at his desk, him sitting down on his chair and me standing behind him, both of us looking at the screen ahead as it played the latest update. Wanda hadn't been out of her room in weeks and I was concerned about her. The only people she let in were Vision and Clint and that was on a good day. She had been coming out for breakfast the past couple of days, which had surprised me. She was slowly returning to her normal self.

Tony and Steve still weren't getting along, arguing about the most insignificant things. The Lagos incident didn't help the situation. Pepper still hadn't returned and I was getting worried now. When I had asked Tony, he said she didn't know where she had gone. Afterwards, he would just seem to clam his mouth shut and walk away, which was very unlike him. The other Avengers were still recovering, going out on missions to help people, but sometimes coming back battered and bruised from being hurt by protesters.

 ** _11 Wakandans were among those killed during a confrontation between the Avengers and a group of mercenaries in Lagos, Nigeria, last month. The traditionally reclusive Wakandans were on an outreach mission in Lagos when the attack occurred._**

A man on a podium, one that I recognised as King T'Chaka of Wakanda, began to speak, talking about the attack: **_Our people's blood is spilled on foreign soil. Not only the cause of the actions are criminals, but by the indifference of those pledged to stop them. Victory at the expense of the innocent is no victory at all._**

He was right, of course. Just because we had succeeded missions, didn't mean that lives hadn't been lost in the process. I weaved a hand through Steve's hair as he picked up the remote, preparing to turn the television off.

 _ **The Wakanda king went on to-**_

Steve turned off the television, but we still heard a television playing in the background. I noticed that the noise seemed to be coming from Wanda's room.

"Wanda..." Steve concluded and I nodded, pressing a tender kiss to his forehead before I replied.

"Go and talk to her. She needs a leader right now and Clint is on a mission." I told him and he nodded, getting up, releasing our hands that had been in a hold since he had sat down. Once our hands had disconnected, I saw him go over and head towards the bedrooms, which were a while away, so I knew they wouldn't be disturbed.

I thought about how Steve had been these past few weeks. Finding out about Bucky had been a huge knock-down for him, but he was getting better each day, finally understanding that he needed to find Bucky, but there were bigger priorities. I was proud of him and how far he had come. I sat in his chair and stared at the picture he had drawn of us in the riverside setting simulation all those weeks ago. It was sitting on his desk next to the screen and it made me smile. I was so proud of us.

 **There we go! I hope you liked this chapter. Please remember to review, because I really do love hearing from you. If I don't get enough reviews, then I am worried that I will get bored and lose motivation to write this story. :( Anyway, thank you to all the followers, favouriters and reviewers. See you in the next chapter.**


	31. Finding Old Friends

**Hope you enjoy this chapter. I am trying to get this done as quickly as possible as I keep my other stories afloat. Please remember to review, otherwise I won't find any motivation to do this and I really don't want to lose motivation to write this story. Sorry for my language use in the last story by the way, I will put warnings at the start of each chapter.**

 **WARNING: Swearing is included in this.**

We stayed on the stairs, Steve weeping in my arms, and I tried not to be overwhelmed by my boyfriend being so sad but I couldn't stop it. She was his last connection to the past that wasn't Bucky and she had actually aged in real time, whereas Bucky had been frozen and then taken out when needed, according to the records. Peggy had meant more than I could even imagine, being a true friend to him when he needed it. He would often leave the tower saying to me that he was going to see her for a visit, not telling the other Avengers about the secret visits he had in case they thought he was stupid for holding onto the past, but he trusted me.

It had been 3 days since then that the funeral was held, on the same day as the accords, so as well as being upset about Peggy, he was angry about people signing the accords and didn't know what to do. I sat next to Sam at the funeral, being there for emotional support for Steve as the only tie I had to her was SHIELD.

At the funeral, I was not surprised to find out that Sharon Carter was a relative of Peggy, the woman being a niece to one of the founders of SHIELD. However, Steve was clueless. I had guessed that they were related, but Steve obviously hadn't made that connection.

"Margaret Carter was known to most as a founder of SHIELD." She began. "But I just knew her as Aunt Peggy." She said and Steve dipped his head, understanding the relationship that her and Peggy had. "She had a photograph in her office. Aunt Peggy standing next to JFK. As a kid, that was pretty cool. But, it was a lot to live up to. Which is why I never told anyone we were related." She said, looking directly at Steve as an apology to why she lied about her identity. Steve smiled softly to show that she didn't need to worry about it and she continued with her speech.

"I asked her once how she managed to master diplomacy and espionage at a time when no one wanted to see a woman succeed at either. And she said, compromise when you can. When you can't, don't. Even if everyone is telling you that something wrong is something right. Even if the whole world is telling you to move. It is your duty, to plant yourself like a tree, Look them in the eye and say 'No, you move'. She said, her eyes focusing in on the three of us in the front row. It was a hint to is to say that we should stick with our decision to not be ruled by the government, knowing that we were going through accords. "Thank you." She finished and moved off the stage, the man who was directing the funeral returned to the podium.

"If anyone would like to speak, please say now before we make our way outside." I could see Steve hesitate for a moment before slowly raising his hand to volunteer to speak. The person conducting the ceremony saw him. He slowly stood up and made his way to the front, carefully walking up to the stairs, a few people giving little gasps as they saw him. He stood up at the podium and looked down before closing his eyes and I saw his shoulders relax as he sighed.

"I didn't...prepare anything." He began and I could tell her was trying to hide his nerves. His eyes were darting around for some kind of indication that the funeral wasn't real, but it was and Steve knew he couldn't break down now that he was up there. He glanced at me and his eyes seemed to relax a little when I gave him a small smile. He addressed the church again.

"But I thought I would talk about the Peggy that no one knows." He said. "My name is Steve Rogers. If you don't know me by that name then you might know me by Captain America, which is why I knew Peggy so well." It was fascinating hearing him talk about her. He didn't talk about the romantic parts, but he explained everything else. He even said "I annoyed her one day and I asked her how the shield looked. She said 'Let's see, shall we?' and started shooting at me, putting permanent marks on the shield that I have to this very day." which everyone laughed quietly at. I assumed that that was what Peggy was like. I wish I had known her a little better, not just for Steve, but to see what kind of people created S.H.I.E.L.D. Going by Peggy's standard's, the people were incredible and creative.

"When I came out of the ice, I thought I wanted to ignore the fact that she was gone. When I found out she was alive, I just felt lucky to have her. But Peggy never changed. She will always be, in my head and I'm sure in yours, the strong, confident, selfless woman that tried, and succeeded, to protect the world around her. Thank you." He finished softly and stepped down from the podium.

I almost wanted to clap for him, but it wasn't appropriate. I'm sure that some other people in the audience did too, their tears and small, proud smiles on their faces showing just how much Steve's speech had affected them. When the funeral had finished, we made our way outside. I held Steve's hand as the coffin was slowly lowered into the ground and squeezed it gently.

Steve was standing inside the church, just letting his thoughts come over his head as the other people who attended the funeral went to the wake. I got the feeling he didn't really want to talk to anyone. So, to give him so privacy, I stationed myself outside the church. I was surprise when I saw Natasha walking up the stairs, dressed entirely in black. "Steve's in there." I warned her, but she continued her way towards the door.

"I know." she replied and opened the door to the church. I wasn't sure where I stood with Natasha. She was on Tonys 'side', but I didn't want a bad relationship with her. She was meant to be my best friend. In all honesty, I thought it was a little inappropriate for her to show up like this. She stayed in there with him, for what must have been about ten minutes, before quickly walking out of the building and to her car, not even giving me a second glance as she strode away. I decided not to go after her.

Steve exited soon afterwards and I rapidly put my arms around his neck hardly before he had gotten out of the door. "Hey." he whispered and buried his head into my hair and I put mine against his neck. I liked comforting Steve and making him feel like he had a place to be in his life. Often, he said how he felt out of place, but I tried to make him feel as home as possible. I found myself wondering whether, if he had the choice, he would prefer to go back to the 1940's or stay in the present. With Stark's genius, he had probably gone back in time and changed something already, but we weren't exactly talking with Stark.

"Hey." I replied and pulled away, my arms not detaching from his neck. I threaded a hand through his hair and he shut his eyes. "Are you okay?" I asked and I realised it was a stupid question. His first love had died, which obviously meant that he wasn't okay.

Of course, Steve was Steve and just lied to make me feel better anyway. "Yeah, I'm fine." he replied, a hush to his tone, and I smiled at him softly before taking his hand and walking down the steps with him.

"What did Nat want?" I asked and he sighed, shaking his head slightly.

"She said she was there to support me, but I think she mainly wanted to know about my decision for the accords." He replied and I shook my head. Natasha's timing was not okay. The funeral had literally just finished and she wants to lecture him on politics. I guessed...it wasn't her fault the accords were on the same day, but she could've given a little leeway for Steve to recover properly.

"You still sure that you don't want to sign? We will be hunted down, remember." I reminded him as we reached my car.

He nodded his head. "I'm sure." he said, but took a second glance at me, his eyebrows furrowing as I unlocked the car and opened the door. "Are you?" he asked and I looked up at him, stopping myself from getting into the driver's seat. He was round the other-side, arms rested upon the car roof. I copied his stance, unintentionally, and placed my chin upon the tops of my hands.

"You know that I will always side with you." I said and he pursed his lips, looking at me worriedly before doing the same as me and putting his chin on top of his linked hands.

"But do you actually want to? From a moral aspects..." he said and I rolled my eyes.

"Stephen Grant Rogers..." I said, seeing Steve wince as I said his middle name. Ever since I had found out about it, I was interested in why he didn't like it so much, but he never told me, so I promised that I would continue to use it until he did. "If I didn't think you had a good idea, then I would tell you. Yes, S.H.I.E.L.D was government run and, yes, I was a part of it, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they made the right calls. If we sign the accords, we are placing the fate of the world in other people's hands. These people wanted to blow up Manhattan, which didn't happen, because of the Avengers. The Avengers were the one's who fought to protect the city when the council, government officials, turned their backs. Therefore, the government shouldn't control us, because we know what is right and what is wrong." I told him, hoping he would get the message about how honest I was being with my answer. A grin made it's way onto his face and he nodded in understanding before taking his head off of his hands and getting into the car.

I had one hand on the steering wheel and one hand resting on the clutch, driving along the streets a little faster than usual in fear that we would get caught and that Steve would get hurt. I felt a fingertip trail it's way down my arm and across the back of my hand, landing on the backs of my fingers. Steve picked up my hand and turned it round so that the palm of it was facing the ceiling. He lightly traced circles on it and I hummed in satisfaction. He was the perfect guy, knowing when I was stressed and when I was not. His strokes calmed me a little and I sighed, trying not to shut my eyes as I concentrated on the road until we reached the hotel we were staying in. And then the day got even worse.

Steve spoke with Natasha for a while, checking to make sure that she was okay. I was worried about her, even though she was on a different side. I still cared about her. After Sharon Carter had helped us by giving us some details on everything she knew about Bucky. We were all grateful for her help and I had no idea how we were going to repay her, but we would have to think of something.

We made our way to Bucharest, the file Sharon gave us suggesting where Bucky might be. I waited on the corner of the street next to my bike, trying to blend in with the crowd around me that were all too busy with their own lives anyway. I was also searching for Bucky, which was never going to be a successful mission.

I heard Sam say something over the comms to which Steve replied **"Understood".** I waited there, listening to him talk to Barnes, sounding so caring. I wish I could've at least spoken to Barnes, to know the person that he was before he had gotten brainwashed, but it was never that simple. It felt unfair how the world didn't know the real James Buchannon Barnes, now only seeing him as the Winter Soldier and not the soldier from the 1940's. Over the comms, I could just make out what Bucky was saying to Steve.

 _ **"I wasn't in Vienna."**_ Barnes said, his voice deep and rough. Steve had told me stories about the two of them from when they were children and I didn't imagine him having the threatening, deep voice that he did, but he had changed a lot from the way that Steve had described him. **_"I don't do that anymore."_**

 ** _"They're entering the building."_** Sam reported and I looked up at him in the window of a building opposite Barnes' location, his eyes watching the agents on the roof. I was several blocks away, everywhere full of people, but the binoculars and steady hand that I had allowed me to see everything very clearly.

 _ **"Well, the people who think you did are coming here now. And they're not planning on taking you alive."**_

 _ **"That's smart. Good strategy."**_ he commented and I saw some soldiers parachute from the skies.

 _ **"They're on the roof."**_ I informed them and I saw Sam look up at the agents who were wearing the parachutes as they landed on the roof.

 _ **"I'm compromised."**_ Sam said as I saw him quickly leave the window, followed by flashes of light that I could only assume were gunshots.

 _ **"This doesn't have to end in a fight, Buck."**_ he told the man who was or used to be his best friend.

 _ **"It always ends in a fight."**_ Barnes replied. I felt my face drain a little at his words. James must've been so confused and, having been manipulated his whole life, not know who to trust. He reminded me of a child who was struggling to grow up in the world around him and I almost sighed at the hopelessness in his voice.

 _ **"5 seconds."**_ Falcon's voice stressed and I looked up to see him looking out from another window, having taken out the other agents.

 _ **"You pulled me from the river. Why?"**_ Steve's voice said, demanding an answer.

 _ **"I don't know."**_ he replied, but I was soon distracted by the feeling of something hitting my back. Hard. I stumbled forward, making sure to not trip over the bike next to me as people filtered away, not wanting to get involved with any issues involving the Avengers or the government any longer. I was happy to see that everyone was moving away, because it meant that less people would get hurt.

 _ **"Three seconds!"**_ Falcon reported as I regained my balance, spinning round to see who was attacking me, my fists at the ready.

 _ **"Yes, you do."**_ Steve argued. I was faced with five agents, all carrying guns, but I knew they wouldn't use them on me. I was human, whereas Steve and Bucky were...less so. Even Falcon had armour. I knew I should've told Steve that I was being attacked, but he had his own problems to deal with that I didn't want to concern them with, like bringing his best friend back from where he was trapped in a mind that wasn't his.

 _ **"BREACH! BREACH! BREACH!"**_ Falcon shouted and I burst into action, violently spinning round to kick the first assailant in the face, blood spurting out of the side. I was wearing new shoes that Tony had given me, which had been checked for trackers beforehand, and they were light weight, but extremely powerful, giving me an advantage over the five agents.

The man I had kicked fell to the floor, but my arms were held back by my elbows by a man who had sneaked up on me without my knowledge. I struggled to get out of his grip, but he didn't budge. Another agent came towards me, but I jumped in the air, using the agent restraining me to gain some balance, and kicked powerfully into the man's chest, the force of my muscles and the new shoes causing him to fly backwards, hitting another agent. Two agents down.

I yanked my arms in another attempt to free my arms, but the man held strong against me. Instead of using my arms, I decided to kick my left leg up vertically to hit him straight in the face. Letting go of my arms, I slithered out of his hold and landed a punch to the man, taking him down to the ground.

Two of the men were also coming towards me and I immediately sprung into action as they got out their guns. I rolled onto the floor quickly as I dodged their shots and slid through one of the agent's legs, a move that took them by surprise and caused them to stop firing, not wanting to hit each other. Screams were echoing throughout the streets as the shots continued to fire.

I grabbed onto one of the guard's back and swung myself around to kick the other guard in the face before putting my legs around the first one's neck and swung myself, using the momentum to take the agent to the ground.

I quickly leapt onto the motorbike when I saw new agents coming at me, reaching down to grab their guns. I ducked my head, nearly hitting my chin against the frame as I did, to avoid their bullets. I drove as fast as I could to avoid their bullets and as soon as they stopped firing, I called the team. "Rogers, Falcon, where are you?" I asked, urgently, as I swept through the streets, heading in the direction of where Barnes had been.

 _ **"On the junction road. Under the bridge!"**_ Falcon shouted, sounding a little stressed, and I guessed that Steve must have been occupied by something else. _Were they chasing after Bucky, in a public place?_ That was a bad move all together. If he freaked out in front of people, there would be no stopping the world from hating him, even more than they already did.

I revved the bike a little and zoomed past the cars, nearly hitting a few at some points on the tight corners. The firing bullets had stopped, probably because of the civilian casualties risk, but I could still hear tyres screeching behind me. I shook my head and focused on moving forward to meet the team. Cars were coming up from behind me, obviously from the CIA, and I searched forward for the others.

Steve was the first one I got to. He was in a car and I drove up next to him as we avoided the traffic, not much of it left as most of it moved to the sides when they could see us in the mirrors. "Steve, what the hell happened?" I asked him, focusing on the road instead of turning to him. I desperately wanted to, but I knew I could not take my focus off of the mission.

 _ **"They came for us. We managed to escape, but there's a creature here. See?"**_ he said and I looked forward, watching a black figure get closer and closer as we drove. I split off into another lane as we passed the creature and I wondered whether the 'thing' was human or not, the external patterns either being a suit or the creature's skin. Suddenly, it jumped onto the car like a cat and I was surprised to see it move so agilely.

The creature swayed from lane to lane as Steve maneouvered the car around, trying to chase Bucky, but get the creature off at the same time. "Steve, he's still on the car." I told him.

 _ **"Sam, I can't shake this guy."**_ he said, calling the Falcon for help.

 _ **"Right behind you."**_ he replied and I turned around, expecting Sam to be there, but saw cop cars. Lots and lots of cop cars.

"Shit..." I whispered and sped up to try and get closer to Bucky as Steve and Sam dealt with the creature. I could see Steve was violently veering the car off in different directions, but tried not to get distracted. I hope the creature on the back of the car wasn't dangerous. He seemed to be that way and my thoughts immediately went to Steve's safety. I wondered whether this was the right decision to make after all, especially if Steve's life was at risk.

I got closer to Bucky, the man about twenty metres away from where I was driving. He looked back and I could've sworn I saw him glare at me, before he turned back round and continued to run. I saw Falcon trying to take care of the creature in my mirror and prayed that he wouldn't be harmed.

Bucky jumped over a set of barrels as police cars arrived from the oncoming direction. I groaned, knowing that I would have to push through the barrels. I did so, trying not to lose my balance on the bike when I wobbled a bit from the impact. Steve followed my league, crashing through the barrier of barrels as we continued our journey, this time...against the traffic.

It suddenly felt ten times more dangerous and I felt tempted to tell Steve that this was all too dangerous, but I didn't bother as I knew he wouldn't listen. I was determined to get to Bucky though, for Steve. The tunnel was ending, parts of the ceiling showing the sky and I could see Bucky clearer than before. However, I wish I didn't as I saw him grab the handle of someone's bike and spin it round, causing the driver to fly off of it and onto the floor. Bucky lifted it, jumping in the air as he sat on the bike and sped off immediately.

I knew that it was a life and death situation and that Bucky was an enemy to the world, but I had to admit to myself that the bike steal was fucking cool. He sped away, cars dodging out of his way to stop collisions from occurring. I sped up on my bike, only about ten metres away from him now, and was in between Steve and Bucky.

He turned a corner, trying to get away, but he wasn't going to get away with it. I noticed the creature climb over the front of Steve's car as he caught up to me. "Falcon!" I shouted as the creature leapt onto James, putting a hand round his neck to strangle him. He pulled him down to the ground, James having to shoot his metal arm out to the ground in order to keep himself from falling on the ground.

Bucky managed to kick the creature off and regain his biking position. The creature nearly hit me, but I swerved around it, as did Steve when it tumbled in his direction. _**"I'm distracting it."**_ Sam said and I noted that the creature was starting to chase after us. Falcon attached the creature to himself and flew around in the air with him as Barnes continued to ride.

Suddenly, I noticed something attach to the end of the ceiling and it took me a second to notice that it was a small bomb. "GUYS, WATCH OU-" I didn't finish my sentence as the bomb went off. I was out in the open, but the force of the explosion still caused my bike to throw me forward and I was shot to the ground, the friction from my skin and the concrete causing gashes to start up and down my arms. I hissed in pain, but a second later a scream came out of my mouth as I saw the car Steve was driving hurtling towards me. I went into the fetal position and curled up tight. By some miracle, it managed not to hit me. Before I even had the chance to open my eyes, guards were already securing me in place, not caring about my injuries.

When I opened my eyes, they placed handcuffs on me and didn't even bother to read my human rights. Rude. I looked over and realised that Bucky, Steve and the creature were surrounded. "Steve!" I called out, my voice weak and strained. I was surprised that he had heard me, but he turned and I could see his face immediately change, even from how far back I was standing.

I tried to move forward to get to him, but the guards held me back stronger this time, eight of them with me. I saw War Machine land next to the trio and put his repulsors up at the creature and Bucky, the third being a rifle that extended from the back of his suit, aimed at Steve. "Stand down, now!" he commanded and Steve put his hand in front of Bucky, a little sign that showed he wouldn't let anyone hurt him.

I was pushed forward by one of the guards and Steve looked over at the movement. "Hey!" he shouted and I could now see his frowned expression. "Don't touch her!"

"I don't think you have the rights to be giving out orders right now." James pointed out, his tone sounding like Tony's - too arrogant for his own good. Steve sighed as the agents surrounding the four of them didn't move, their guns still aimed at the team. He lifted his shield and practically chucked it on his back, looking too tired to care. "Congratulations, Captain. You're a criminal."

The armies moved in to detain Bucky and Steve, the pair of them being pushed to the ground. I went to move towards them, but the guards pulled me back for a minute, making me wince. Handcuffs were quickly attached to my wrists as I noticed Falcon being taken, but not the creature. It was a sensible decision. They didn't know what the creature was, whether it was poisonous, whether it would kill everyone in a second if anyone touched it. So, the guards, in a very American fashion, pointed a gun at it.

The creature went to move his hands and I was worried that he was going to attack again, but gave a sigh of relief when he went to remove his mask. I was shocked. I considered it for a moment and came to the conclusion that he wanted revenge for his father being killed. "Your highness." Rhodey said. _So they didn't know it was him..._

I was pushed towards the three of them, Steve's eyes locking with me. He smiled reassuringly at me, but I was still worried about what was going to happen next. I saw Steve lift his head as Bucky was taken into the back of a large truck that most likely had a container in it that he would be placed in. Steve frowned at the guards, especially at Rhodey who was assisting their team.

Me and the other three were pushed into the car, Steve and me put the middle two seats, Sam in the row behind and the new King of Wakanda in the row in front, a metal grate separating the three rows of us. Rhodey had told the team that Steve and me could sit together if we wanted to, which I thought was nice of him, until I remembered that he was working against us. I was tired and my arms stung from the chase earlier where my body was forced along the concrete floor, so as soon as I got into the car I fell asleep on Steve's shoulder from being so weak.

I woke up occasionally to the ongoing silence that was passing between the four of us. No one had spoken at all, at least not while I was awake. The car jolt forced me awake and my eyes squeezed together before opening, blinking as I adjusted to the light from the outside. I looked around and recognised that we were in Berlin, probably on our way to a government building to be assessed.

"Hey." a voice whispered in my ear and I moved my head to look at Steve, my chin resting on his shoulder. Our hands weren't even able to hold each other's as we were in handcuffs. When we had been put in the car, they had strapped us into seat-belts immediately and told us not to do anything stupid. They also said it would be a long ride, so sleep would be a good idea.

"Hey." I replied, my voice sounding horse, like I had just woken up from a sleep of eternity. I could smell the blood from my arms and hissed when the pain came back to me. I looked down at my arm and glared at the scratch on it.

"I wish we could get you to medical." he whispered and I looked back up at his sad eyes.

"I'm sure they'll look after me wherever we stop." I told him, but it was only a guess at what was going to happen. I had no idea. I looked forward to find T'Challa's head slumped sideways, indicating that he was asleep. I turned my head and groaned when a pain shot through my neck, but as soon as I noticed that Sam was asleep I let my head rotate back to where it was originally placed on Steve's hard shoulder.

"You feeling okay?" he asked, kissing the top of my head. He left his lips there for a few seconds and I thought back to last month when we were in the tower, safe and lying in bed together. A normal couple. But normal doesn't come with the Avengers contract.

"A little sore, but you don't need to worry." I assured him.

"But I do." he said, dragging his lips away from my head and pushing them on my lips. I didn't expect the kiss and found myself being pushed backwards from the pressure, but after a moment I gained control and we sat upright. His kiss was deep and passionate, the type that he would give to me during sex, and I didn't understand why he was being so forceful.

I pulled back and he swayed forward slightly from my detachment before sitting up. He looked at me, confused and almost hurt. "What?" he asked and I raised an eyebrow. I noticed an anger lying behind his tone and thought that I should talk about it with him.

"What's wrong?" I asked, but before he could answer, a loud beeping came over a speaker that was on the van. The noise made me flinch and it caused a small amount of pain to shoot through me.

"We're arriving in ten minutes." a woman said before turning the speaker off. I couldn't make our who the woman was, because the windows were tinted between us and the driver. Looking out of my own window, I noticed that we were in Berlin. I flinched at the noise and me and Steve turned to face the front as Sam and T'Challa began to wake up.

T'Challa looked at his surroundings and furrowed his eyebrows before settling back against his chair when he realised where he was. I found that man peculiar, his black suit showing the same dangerous and mysterious character that I saw in him when he wasn't wearing the suit. A few minutes past, no one having anything to say, and I looked at Steve who was looking straight forward at the bars in front of him. I wanted to carry on our discussion, to find out why he was acting so unlike himself, but now wasn't the time.

"So, you like cats?" Sam asked, striking up some form conversation.

"Sam..." I warned, not wanting him to start anything. The last we needed was an argument right now.

"What? Dude shows up dressed like a cat and you don't wanna know more?" he asked, addressing both me and Steve with the question. To be honest, it was a fair question to ask.

"Your suit." Steve began, his voice clipped and sharp. I could tell that he was irritated. All I wanted to do was reach my hand out to touch his, but the handcuffs we wore permitted that. "It's vibranium?"

The man Steve was addressing slowly moved his head sideways, not turning all the way round to look at Steve and I. Instead, his gaze was focused on the floor of the car in a diagonal direction. "The Black Panther has been the protector of Wakanda for generations." he explained, turning his head back to the front, not actually answering Steve's question. His words made be realise that he wasn't the Black Panther, he wasn't the hero, but the suit was. His father may have worn the suit in the past, but he was the one who wore it now. "A mantle passed from warrior to warrior." he continued.

"And now because you friend murdered my father," he said, making Steve's jaw clench. I felt so bad that everyone was taking his out on him. Steve was just trying to save his best friend. I think anyone else would've done it having been in the same position. "I also wear the mantle of king." It was a lot of pressure on the prince and I felt sorry for him for losing father and for having to control his country, if he was even allowed to control it any longer after this incident. "So I ask you, as both warrior and king, how long do you think you can keep your friend safe from me?"

 **Hey I didn't get any reviews at all for my last chapter and I'm starting to think that no one is reading it. Please tell me you guys are out there and review? Please :)**


	32. Risks

**Thank you very much for reviewing and please continue to do so. I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in ages. PLEASE FORGIVE ME!**

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We arrived at a very efficient, expensive looking building that reminded me of S.H.I.E.L.D warehouses. The room was nearly empty, only guards and a few items in the room. We exited the vehicle, agents taking the cuffs off of it, and I noticed Bucky being taken out of the truck in a glass and steel box, strapped down by buckles to a chair. I saw Steve tense slightly and I placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey!" a guard shouted, walking up to us. I glared at him as he shoved my hand off of Steve's shoulder.

"His friend has just been taken, are you kidding? We're not going to do anything stupid." I spat, raising an eyebrow. The guard looked at us inquisitively and turned to look at someone in the distance. A man that I didn't recognise who standing next to Carter nodded and the guard turned back. Keeping his head up, the guard stepped away and I took it as a sign that I was allowed to touch Steve.

I quickly threw my arms around him and I heard a set of guns click as they pointed at us. I didn't care. I wanted Steve to know that I had his back. As soon as I hugged him, I felt his hands press into my back and firmly press onto me. "Hey guys, there's no need for that." Sam said, talking to the guards that were pointing guns at us. I held onto Steve tightly before slowly letting go and kissing his cheek.

"You good?" I asked and gave him a brief kiss, this time on the lips. He stared at me lovingly and cupped his hands on my face, tenderly stroking my cheeks.

"Yeah." he whispered and slowly too away his hand, weaving one of them into mine. He squeezed it lightly as the guard's guns stopped aiming at us. The four of us looked at each other before walking towards Carter and three other men that I didn't recognise, one in a suit that was obviously top dog at the institution we were visiting.

Steve strode confidently in front of us, asking "What's going to happen to him?"

"The same thing that ought to happen to you. Psychological evaluation and extradition." the man in the suit replied. He stood upright, shoulders square and arms hanging down by his sides, unlike Sharon who was in a military stance. He looked like a man who had been through some sort of military experience, but not a large amount of it. I immediately disliked the man, not finding his snarky approach all that amusing.

"This is Everett Ross, deputy task force commander." Sharon said, introducing the suited man.

"What about our lawyer?" I asked, analysing Everett. I wondered whether he was related to Secretary Ross, but then realised that he didn't have any children. If he did have a son, however, Everett Ross would be the son he wanted - a 'commander'.

"Lawyer, that's funny." he said, a smile teasing from his lips. "See that their weapons are placed in the lock up. Oh, we'll write you a receipt." he added, making it sound as if he were doing us a favour. His arrogance made me want to assault him. Three steps and I would've been able to punch him in the face. I gritted my teeth and tried not to squeeze Steve's hand out of anger.

"I better not look out the window and see anybody flying around in that." Sam said, staring and following his Falcon suit that was being taken out of the room to God knows where. We walked with the team, but I couldn't help notice Steve hesitantly look back to see Bucky being sealed behind a set of sliding doors. I squeezed his hand reassuringly, but no smile came to his face. He stared at me for a minute before looking in the direction we were going.

The man in a suit led us through the building, into an elevator, which we took to the fifth floor of the building. Once we exited, we were taken across a bridge that connected the building we were in to another, a river flowing underneath the bridge. I would've thought it were nice, if it weren't for the disgusting grey colour the building was painted in.

"You will be provided with an office instead of a cell." Everett said, as if being in an office was better than a cell. An office was a more comfortable environment, but we were still being trapped against our will. "Do me a favour and stay in it." he added, familiar with our tendency to escape situations that we didn't like. I guessed that King T'Challa was going to be allowed to roam around free, which I thought was unfair. He may be a King, but he still tried to kill us and be an independent vigilante.

"I don't intend on going anywhere." the King said and I physically bit back my anger, holding my lip between my teeth. I didn't hate the guy, but I refused to think that he wanted to help the American government or any government for that matter. He was on his own personal vendetta that I understood, but didn't think was appropriate.

Natasha made her way towards us and my lip slipped out between my teeth. I didn't want to believe that we were actually enemies and that she was working with the people that were aiming guns at us only a few minutes ago, but I had to face the truth that she was on their side. She made her way to us and then turned when she caught up. "For the record, this is what making it worse looks like."

"He's alive." Steve pointed out. That was our mission and we succeeded in it. I would call it a job well done, but that was not how Natasha seemed to see it. We walked into what looked like a technical hub, a large glass office in the middle that contained a very irritated Tony Stark. He was shaking his head as he spoke telling someone that they were wrong most likely.

"The remains of us are now at court section. And Colonel Rhodes is supervising the clean up." he said. His eyes drifted to Steve's when he saw us enter. The made their way to me and Sam before returning, and staying, set on Steve.

"Try not to break anything while we fix this." Natasha said as Tony continued to argue down the phone.

"Consequences? You bet they'll be consequences." he said, walking down a small set of stairs to meet us. Tony rolled his eyes at the man on the caller's response. "Obviously you can quote me on that, because I just said it. Anything else?" he asked, sounding tired of hearing the person's voice. "Thank you, Sir." he finished and hung up the phone, pressing the touch screen a little harder than was normal. He was angry and, to be honest, he should've felt that way. We had different opinions, but me, Sam and Steve had completely messed up Tony's idea of how the Avengers should be. Saying that, I thought that he was wrong. We were a group of people that needed to be independent and not be dictated to by a government who wouldn't be able to control us.

"Consequences?" Steve asked

"Secretary Ross wants you both prosecuted." he replied simply, slipping his phone into his pocket. "I have to give him something."

"I'm not getting that shield back, am I?" Steve asked as we watched them begin to walk away.

"Technically, it's the government's property." Natasha said, leaning back, before walking ahead with Tony, not looking at us again. "Wings too." She was almost talking with a happy look on her face, one that made me feel uncomfortable with her choice to side with the government. When had Natasha become such a bitch?

"That's cold." Sam said, voicing my exact feelings.

"Warmer than jail." Tony quipped and I restrained from scowling at him as the pair walked away.

A man dressed in a suit, similar to that of Ross', walked over to us and gestured towards the glass unit in the centre of the room that Tony had just exited from. "This is where you will be stationed. Mr. Stark wishes to speak in here with Mr. Rogers first, so if Ms. Hill and Mr. Wilson would be so kind as to wait in these seats, please." he said, gesturing to the two black seats that were outside the glass room.

Steve shook his head and replied "Anything Tony tells me can also be told to them."

"Oh, I'm sure you will inform them about your discussion, but Mr. Stark requested to speak specifically to you." the man said, smiling synically at Steve, which I gritted my teeth at. There was no need to be rude about it.

"But Tony does not-"

"Steve." I interrupted and placed a hand on his fore-arm. His fist was clenched tight and I brushed my hand against his skin, soothing him as his fist slowly relaxed. His eyes connected with mine and I saw the rage reflected in his begin to decrease, his usual soft look returning to them. Even though he had only received a few hours sleep, if that, he looked incredibly perky and awake. His shoulders slouched, which was always an indication to me that his body was tired. His eyes were sparkling blue and I tried not to get lost in them as I talked with him. "We'll be right outside the door."

Instead of standing there in our moment of peace, I shifted my weight onto the balls of my feet and pressed a soft kiss onto his cheek, my eyes fluttering closed as I did. "I love you, remember." I whispered and slowly withdrew the hand that was placed on his arm. I couldn't read the expression that he was giving me, his face seeming blank, but I could tell that his brain was ticking away, his eyes always showing that it was.

He nodded at me and made his way towards the glass room. I watched him go as I realised that it was the first time he hadn't said that he loved me back, not that he had said it much at all, but I always thought it was a natural response. That's what it felt like with me. If not that, then a split form of collocation. I didn't know why he didn't say that same thing back to me, but I tried not to think about it as I sat next to Sam, waiting for Tony to return and talk to Steve.

Sam sighed and put his head in his hands as he thought something over in his mind. "What's wrong? Missing Redwing already?" I asked, hoping it would lighten the mood, but he didn't laugh and, to be honest, I didn't find it very funny either. We were sitting in a facility that contained two super soldiers, both out of their minds for different reasons. Steve was worried about Bucky and Bucky...I was unsure about whether he had a mind.

Sam shook his head as he straightened up and focused on a spot of floor in front of him. "More like I'm missing Jess actually." I had completely forgotten about Sam's relationship with my assistant, Bucky's appearance, or should I say reappearance, pushing all other thoughts to the back of my mind.

"Has she been in contact?" I asked and Sam shrugged, his eyes still glued to the spot.

"I told her to take Jane and stay away from the whole issue while we sort stuff out. I thought it would be safer for both of them. She's been texting me on the encrypted phone to make sure that I know she is safe, but now that the government has taken it, I'll have to find another phone." he replied. I had to admire Sam at his words, because I hadn't even thought about getting the others to safety. I was concerned about them, but I didn't think that they would be put in any danger being there. However, thinking about it as I sat in the chair made me realise what a mistake I had made by not thinking about it earlier. Sam was a level-headed guy and as I thought about it, I had never seen the man overly stressed about anything.

"That was a good decision." I replied and he looked up at me, his eyes dimmer than they usually were. Sam was a fun guy, flirting with anyone to gain their friendship, but it was just the way Sam was and I loved him for it. If he didn't like something, he would say it and not beat around the bush to get his way or voice his opinion. Wilson would've been a pretty good leader if Steve wasn't at the top, but we were all more like the bottom after the past day or so.

"We were meant to go away this weekend." he told me, linking his hands together as he leaned back in his chair. "We had both booked time off work and we were going to visit England, get away from everyone for a little while and go to a country that we hadn't been to before."

He sank lower into his chair and I put my hand over his that was resting on the arm-rest. His eyes flickered up to meet mine and I smiled at him, squeezing his hand. "You'll get that opportunity. Once this has all blown over, you'll get to take your girl to England." I was quite surprised that he wanted to move this fast with a girl he had only met a few weeks ago, but the pair seemed to get on incredibly well, being opposites and so similar at the same time. If someone thought of the perfect couple, then it would be Jessica and Sam. Steve had never suggested that we go abroad, but I didn't mind as Bucky was a far more important project than our relationship. I didn't care about that though, whereas some people may find it annoying that their boyfriend spends more time researching than with his girlfriend. I honestly didn't mind as Steve cared about Bucky and I cared about Steve, so it wasn't an issue.

I noticed my shoelace had come lose and released my grip on Sam's arm to re-do. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tony walk over to the entrance of the glass room, a peculiar looking, rectangular box in his hand. He briefly looked over to us, but didn't take much notice apart from giving a minuscule smile our way. I continued to re-lace my boots as Tony and Steve began to talk.

"I'm sorry your time as an Avenger was so short." Sam said and I raised an eyebrow at his confession. Being an Avenger was never part of the plan, so to be offered a position within the ranks of Avenging had thrilled me, not that I showed it in the beginning

"It's okay. 'The Agent' was a really bad name anyway." I told him as I crossed my arms over my chest.

"I'm serious." he said, chuckling lightly at me. "You should've been able to go through my experiences with us."

I shrugged. "Nothing I can do now." I replied and we both went back to watching Steve in the glass box, falling into a comfortable silence. I saw Steve get angrier and angrier at Tony, his teeth gritting and his hand tightening around what seemed to be a pen. Steve chucked the pen on the table and swiftly made his way out of the room.

"Hey, what was that about?" I asked as Steve slumped himself in a chair next to me. His eyebrows were creased and his jawline was locked, tight - he was stressed.

"Tony said Wanda has been locked down in the tower and she will be 'reinstated once this is all over." he snapped, shaking his head as he stared at the floor.

"What?" Sam said, sounding as shocked as I felt.

"Why?" I asked, placing my hand delicately on his that was resting on his arm rest. His hand flinched for a second, but turned to hold my hand in his. I felt his fast heartbeat through his wrists and his warm hand squeezed mine.

"Because Tony's a dick, that's why." he replied, enraged at Stark's decision to keep Wanda confined to our old home. Wanda needed security, but that was pretty extreme. She wasn't a prisoner. Me and Sam were taken back by his choice of words, those words being quite modern. It wasn't like Steve didn't swear, I'm sure he did, it was just I had hardly heard him and he rarely did so. He sighed and held his head in his hands, my fingers dropping onto the chair's arm rest. "What a mess..." he whispered to himself and I lifted my hand, placing it between his shoulders blades and stroking it soothingly.

"This can't be the end." I told him, in some hope that it would reassure me too. I wondered what we would do now that we weren't signing the accords. We would no longer be Avengers, that was for sure. No way would they let us stay on as defenders of the Earth.

After Tony left the glass room, me, Sam and Steve were ushered into it by another rude guard and stuck there for what seemed like eternity until Carter came in. I was unsure about her. I couldn't tell whether she was on our side or the government's side. That all changed when she brought up an image of Bucky.

Chaos descended when the screen suddenly went blank - alarms blaring, people rushing everywhere, but Sharon told us where to go. "Sub-level 5, East Wing." she told us quickly and we sprinted out in that direction, my feet moving so fast that I was concerned about whether my shoes were going to hold together. Finally, we got there, but found people lying on the floor, bodies covered in blood with blank expressions.

I saw Steve look sadly at the bodies, but immediately moved past them to try and find the man responsible - the person who was interrogating Bucky no doubt. When we arrived there, the cage was empty, no super-soldier in sight. Steve picked the 'psychologist' up by the collar and shoved him up against the wall.

"Steve!" I warned, not wanting my boyfriend to hurt him. He was my enemy too, but I had never seen Steve this angry before. I didn't blame him. His best friend was missing and everyone around him had the order to shoot on sight. I could see Steve's teeth gritting behind his closed mouth, but when I spoke up, they relaxed slightly. His eyes were still held the rage.

"Who are you? What do you want?" he demanded and I noticed the psychologist smirking slightly.

"To see an empire fall." he replied as I heard something whirr to life from the right of me. I immediately spun round and saw Bucky fighting Sam, no emotion present in his eyes. I gasped, but immediately sprung into action, jumping onto Bucky's back to get him to stop fighting Wilson, but he violently threw me into a wall like I was a rag doll. Pain shot through my back and I had to bite my lip to keep myself from crying out. The pain didn't last long, but was very painful, to say the least, in the few moments that I experienced it.

As I tried to stand up, I heard fighting taking place, not hearing who the shouts were coming from. I looking and saw that Sam was knocked out by the glass box. I ran over to him. "Sam!" I shouted, crouching next to him to try and wake him up, shaking his shoulders and checking his pulse. I sighed in relief when I realised that he was still alive. I looked around, but Bucky and the 'psychologist' had gone. Steve had too.

Sam wasn't waking up, so I did what I thought was best. _One more try and then I'm going after the bastard that woke up the Winter Soldier._ I slapped Sam in the face, a loud clapping sound resulting from the contact, and he pushed himself up straight away, taking a deep breath as his head shot around everywhere. He was probably trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

"Hey!" Sam shouted as I helped him stand up. I looked in the direction his eyes were in and saw the 'psychologist' making a break for it, running away from the elevator that had a huge dent in it. _Oh God._ Sam and me ran towards the elevator and I looked down it, trying to see whether anyone was at the bottom.

"Steve?" I shouted, hoping that I wasn't going to get a reply. The elevator drop might've been quite far down. I knew he would be able to handle it, but I didn't want him to be hurt. "Steve?" I shouted again, a little louder and I got a groan in response.

"Ria?" I heard a quiet voice say and I immediately turned to Sam, ready to give instructions, but he seemed to be one step ahead of me.

"Already on it." he shouted as he sprinted down the corridor to find the intruder. I placed my hand on either side of the broken elevator and looked down, trying to make out Steve's figure. I could just about see a man pushing himself up, the elevator emergency lights allowing me to see him do so.

"You hurt?" I asked, my voice echoing in the elevator shaft. He must've fallen at least four floors.

"Not really." he replied and I was tempted to roll my eyes at his resistance to admitting he felt pain. He was a super-soldier, but falling four floors must've hurt.

"Okay, well can you get up at all?" I asked as I heard him shuffle around, trying to find some form of escape probably.

"I can use the cables." he replied. I was about to warn him that it was dangerous to do that, an electric shock might've made the situation worse, but I knew that there was no point in arguing when I saw the cable start to move, a sign that he was already climbing. As he was near the top, I reached my hand out and grasped it, pulling him up to the floor without hitting him against the elevator doors that were broken, but still had spiky edges. Contrary to the way Steve acted, he was not invincible.

I finally got him onto the floor and he briefly checked my body for sight of any wounds, his eyes building with worry. "Are you hurt?"

"No." was my speedy reply, not wanting him to be too concerned. I did hurt, my back carrying a small pain, but he didn't need to fret about that. "We going after Barnes?" I asked as we made our way down the corridor the 'psychologist' had gone down.

"I'm going to, but you need to get to Sam and get to safety." He instructed and I nearly stopped walking.

"Safety? Steve, we aren't coming along for the fun of it, we are fighting with you, now where are you going to meet me and Sam?" I asked, my brain thinking rapidly as we began to run down the corridor. I heard him sigh at my persistence. He should've gotten used to it by now.

"Checkpoint 5." He replied and I nodded, remembering the location in Germany that was near the airport, under the bridge. We had made checkpoints whilst we were in the truck, knowing that wherever we would be held would contain bugs.

"Okay." I replied and was about to head off in a different direction, towards the staircase where I knew the intruder would be escaping to, but fingers curled around my wrist. Steve grip was light, but had enough force to pull me to his chest.

He forced his lips onto mine, his lips slightly warned than mine, which made me want to melt on the spot. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he teased his tongue through my lips. I moaned as he shoved me up against the nearest wall and, suddenly, all the alarms and flashing lights seemed to be distant. He was devouring me and I shivered at his confidence, making me want to take him away from the fight and go rent a cottage for us to be in, alone. After a few seconds, he dragged his lips away from mine, having difficulty doing so as his lips were practically glued to mine.

"Please don't get hurt." He mumbled, our noses touching each other in a moment of peace. His hot breathe tickled my cheek and I placed a soft kiss against it, my eyes staying shut the whole time.

"Ditto." I replied and he chuckled slightly, before kissing my forehead and running off. By the time I had opened my eyes, he had gone, not evidence that he had been here except for my plump lips that he had kissed and my now burning hot cheek.

Shaking off my building arousal, I opened the door for the stairs and looked up the stairwell, seeing two people chasing each other - Falcon and the intruder. I jumped up the steps, three at a time, and tried to push the back pain to the very edge of my mind. I gritted my teeth as I ascended, getting nearer and nearer to the top. The pain was spreading up my back and I felt my breaths become more and more laboured.

I pushed myself, determined to reach them, but when I got to the rooftop, Sam was walking back to where I was standing. "Where did he go?" I asked.

"No idea." He replied shortly, sounding irritated that the man had managed to escape his grasp.

"Checkpoint 5 Steve says." I told him and he nodded, quickly making him way down the stairs with me.

"There's a car waiting." He replied and I guessed that he had an old contact in Berlin. Because of his army training and travelling experience, Sam has a contact in almost every country. It was extremely helpful.

We arrived at checkpoint 5 only to find that Steve wasn't there yet. We had no idea what had happened with him and Bucky. The radio had said something about an accident at the facility, but didn't really give much detail. As we were leaving, I saw many people gathered around the river that was underneath the bridge. I wanted to go back and find out what had happened, but knew that we couldn't risk getting caught. So we were fugitives now. Yay.

"God, this is killing me. It's been 5 hours." I told him, slumping against the wall of the building we were stationed in, my injury long forgotten as my back was now better. It wasn't a large building, but it was out if the way and didn't look like an obvious hiding place. I was pacing which probably wasn't the best idea; but I didn't know what else to do. The same thoughts entered and re-entered my head. What if Bucky killed Steve? What if Steve killed Bucky? What if they were both dead? What if they were recaptured and we were just sitting at the checkpoint waiting for nothing?

"He'll be here." Sam said, looking out of the wall to see if there were any threats converging on us.

"But what if something has happened?" I asked him and he shook his head, moving away from the wall to walk over to me. I was still pacing. He stopped me, holding my shoulders in his hands, and looked me right in the eye.

"He'll be here." He repeated and pulled me forward into a hug. It wasn't something I expected from Sam, but I hugged him back regardless. He must've been worried about Steve too, but I couldn't imagine what was going through his head as he thought about Jess. My partner was with me, but Jess was with Jane, somewhere safe. God knew were Pepper was. I prayed that she was unharmed and not by herself. I missed her lots and tried not to reach out to her, worried that it would endanger her. There were dangers all around us now and somehow...we were going to deal with them.

We drew back from the hug and he reached his hand down to hold mine. I was happy I had Sam with me as I don't think I would've made it by myself. I couldn't rely on Fury anymore as he didn't really direct S.H.I.E.L.D, but kind of did - it was complicated.

Sam squeezed my hand tightly and smiled before going to his spot by the wall. Instead if pacing, I say on the floor. It was a little cold, but I didn't mind. I shuffled up against the nearest wall and rested my head for a few seconds, accidentally falling asleep in the process.

When I woke, I felt a small pressure against my shoulder. As I withdrew from my sleep, I realised that the pressure was a set of fingers pressing down against my shoulder. "Hey doll." I heard a voice whisper, which made the end of my lips curl up into a smile, my body too tired to break out into a grin. The fingers were softly stroking my neck and I found the motion very relaxing, almost making me fall asleep again, but I was determined to stay awake. Hearing his voice, knowing he was alive, warned my heart and gave me the energy to open my eyes.

His blue eyes were staring down at me and I blinked a couple of times to see them clearer. "Hey." I whispered as I pushed off the wall to stand. "What happened?" I asked, rolling my shoulders to ease off the knots in my back from sleeping against the rock wall.

"Got Bucky outta there." He said, bringing me across to where he was sitting, arm wedged into a clamp. He seemed to be knocked out and he wouldn't be dead, otherwise there would be no need for the restraint. I would be surprised if he could break out of the hold, but I wasn't dismissing the possibility.

"Anyone hurt?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"A few agents at the facility, but no one from outside it." He replied and stood next to me, his shoulder coming into contact with mine. It was a nice reassurance that made me want to curl up in his chest and forget about everything else.

"Is he okay?" I asked, unfolding my arms and hooking one through his. I rested my head against his shoulder and shut my eyes.

"He will be." Steve replied and I moved my head to rest my chin on his shoulder, my eyes roaming the side of his unshaven face. I could see his eyes weighed down a little more than usual, probably from tiredness.

"And you?" I asked and his eyes drifted to link with mine, blue meeting brown. He shut his eyes and rested his head against my own. Our noses slotted next to each other and I realised that I wanted nothing to change.

"I'm okay." He replied, softly bringing me forward with his hand to kiss my forehead. He left his lips there as he spoke. "I need to talk to you alone." He whispered and pulled away to talk to Sam. "We will be back in a minute." Steve said and he nodded.

Linking my hand in his, he walked me patiently out the door until we were on the furthest side of the building next to a crack in the wall used for scanning the area. He leaned against the wall, head level with mine, and squeezed my hand softly.

"What did you want to say?" I asked and his lips drifted upwards into a small smile. It wasn't a happy smile, but not a sad one either. I could see he was strongly focusing his mind on something. His eyes were looking at mine, but it was like they were looking deeper than the mere surface. It were as if he were searching for something in them. But he was smiling and I couldn't figure out why.

"I have no idea how this is going to end." He admitted, sighing. "I...I have no idea whether we are going to get captured or...or escape or whether it's all going to go wrong and we die. I want you to know how I feel."

I already knew how he felt. I knew that he loved me and I one hundred percent knew I felt the same way. "Will you marry me?"

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	33. The Battle

**Thank you for the wonderful followers and favouriters and etc. I really do love you so much. I've been through a difficult stressful time recently, so your reviews mean a lot to me!**

 **Previously:**

 **"What did you want to say?" I asked and his lips drifted upwards into a small smile. It wasn't a happy smile, but not a sad one either. I could see he was strongly focusing his mind on something. His eyes were looking at mine, but it was like they were looking deeper than the mere surface. It were as if he were searching for something in them. But he was smiling and I couldn't figure out why.**

 **"I have no idea how this is going to end." He admitted, sighing. "I...I have no idea whether we are going to get captured or...or escape or whether it's all going to go wrong and we die. I want you to know how I feel."**

 **I already knew how he felt. I knew that he loved me and I one hundred percent knew I felt the same way. "Will you marry me?"**

I had never thought I would be in this position, especially with Steve. Steve and I were together, but marriage? I hadn't thought about the concept that much. However, marriage wasn't something that I didn't want with Steve. I could tell from the moment that I met Steve he was full of honour and would only propose if he truly loved the person he was with. I would always the special way that Steve cared about me. He was like no one that I had ever met. I was unsure about the timing of it. Was he proposing because the chance of us dying was increased? The thoughts ran through my mind as I tried not to panic about the situation I was thrown into. I was hanging onto the end of a question that I never expected to hear. After not speaking for a few seconds, he turned his head, slightly confused at my incapability to answer.

"Maria?" He prompted, but I stayed still, trying to figure out an answer. _I love Steve, I was in love with him. Marrying him wouldn't change anything, would it? Would we even get married? A battle is coming and I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if he-_

"Steve!" Sam shouted and our heads shot in the direction of the call, Sam standing by the door of where Bucky was being kept. I looked to Steve who winced before running off in Sam's direction. I stood there for a few seconds, my feet frozen to the floor, thinking about how I hadn't even managed to give him an answer. _God knows how he must feel. I'm an idiot._

I quickly followed and we all spoke to Bucky as he came to wake, noticing that Steve was fully focused on his best friend. I wasn't sure whether he was ignoring me or not, but if I was, he was doing a damn good job. I didn't blame him for that though. I didn't respond to his proposal.

After getting into a car that Sam got off his old contact, we headed to airport, meeting Sharon on the way. We decided to meet her underneath a disused bridge. I opened the door and stepped out of the car that felt too hard to breathe in from the tense atmosphere between me and Steve. I couldn't tell if Sam and Bucky noticed it, but if they did, they didn't mention it.

"They're going to come looking for you." she reminded me as I picked up everybody's equipment in my arms. I passed it over to Steve who was waiting by the car, ready to put the equipment in the boot of the old car we had. I looked up at him, but he didn't focus on me at all. His eyes were distant and focused on the job at hand. I sighed to myself and let him take the wings, shield and suits, before turning back around to see Sharon's gaze.

"I know." I replied as I walked her back to her car. I flinched when I heard Steve slam the boot of the car and quickly snapped my head to look at him, worried that he had hurt himself. He didn't look angry, but upset to say the least.

"What's up with him?" she asked when we were out of earshot. We were stood by her car and I leaned against it, my hand pressing against the top frame of the window. I definitely wasn't going to tell Sharon about the proposal, no matter how close we were. I had no idea what I was going to decide and I needed to work out what to do alone.

"Something happened, I made a mistake and he's a little upset about it. We haven't really talked about it and I don't really know how to start." I said, trying to explain the situation the best I could without giving the game away. She would have to be a genius to decipher what was wrong. She studied me curiously, but didn't push it.

"Well, I've only spoken with Steve a few times, mostly work related stuff, but he doesn't seem like the type of person to hold a grudge, so he should let it go soon enough. You want my advice?" she asked and I shrugged, smiling slightly.

"Sounds like you're going to give it to me anyway." I replied, making her chuckle.

"Mistakes happen, but don't let that sway you say. Just speak from the heart and tell him that your sorry. Steve's a sucker for an apology." she told me and smiled softly, her eyes smiling with her lips.

"Thank you, Sharon." I replied and she nodded. Sharon was close with me and I wondered whether, after all this, she would be taken. If she was, I would never see her again. I felt a lump form in my throat at that thought. "Be careful, okay?" I said and she shook her head.

"I'll be fine, Ria." she replied, but I quickly pulled her into a hug anyway, trying to keep a lid on my emotions. Steve had released the emotional side of me, which may have been a weakness, but, in the end, it was worth. "Stay safe." she whispered and took her arms away. I noticed her try and hide her wipe a tear that was falling down her cheek. I put my hand up to my face to wipe away a raindrop that had fallen down, only to find that the drop was a tear from my eye. As I heard Sharon drive away, I stared at the liquid on my fingers and ran my thumb over them, feeling the tears on my skin.

I tried to conceal myself from the others, not wanting them to see my cry, and secretly wiped the tears away. When my face was dry, I walked back to the car and got into the seat next to Steve who already had his hands on the wheel. The car was small and took longer to get in and out of, but Sam was right when it would be a little more undercover that a swish one. "Are you okay?" he asked, sounding concerned about me. I turned to see his eyes tired and his face worn out. I could tell that he didn't get enough sleep on the ride over to Germany. It had been the first time he had looked at me in hours and I found myself feeling drawn to his eyes, like I did when I first met him. Perhaps I was going through withdrawal symptoms from his gaze. His emotions took over his head when he proposed and I still hadn't decided on whether to accept or not. We had only been together for a few months, not even that. I was finding it difficult to figure out how to tell Steve.

"I'm never going to see her again, am I..." I whispered, allowing my eyes to shut for a few seconds, hoping that this war would go away for a few seconds, but the mechanical sound of Bucky's arm and Steve's breathing reminded me of the battle-zone we were going to be shortly entering.

"Don't say that..." he replied, his voice just above the sound of a whisper. He offered me his hand, his fingers marred with scars from before his serum. The one's after the serum healed completely, but the one's from before stayed there. He once said that they remind him of who he is. Before I knew what I was doing, my fingers was sliding into his and our hands were locked in a safe, warm grip that gently eased the tension out of my body.

The rest of the drive was silent, not being able to find anything interesting to bring up. There was no point in formulating a plan, because we didn't know what was going to happen. Clint, Scott, Wanda and I were tasked with waiting until the prime moment and Sam and Bucky were set to find the helicarrier, leaving Steve to try and talk down Tony and his team. We had to meet Scott first, which I found quite amusing. He wasn't subtle with his nervous and excited nature. Steve seemed to mean a big deal to him, all the Avengers did. I felt conflicted as to whether Scott should've been in the battle or not, knowing that his kid depended on him. He didn't mention anything about Hope when he had gotten out of the car, so we assumed that she was staying out of the battle. _Lucky her._

We suited up, me and Steve being the first ready. He was standing by a pillar, looking out at the empty airport as the others were getting changed. I stepped towards him cautiously, not wanting to do anything too rash. I saw him flinch when I was 5 metres away and it was then that I realised his super soldier serum gave him enhanced hearing. I stepped up next to him, but didn't look at him, instead focusing on the view he was concentrating so hard on.

"Were you serious about the proposal?" I asked, knowing that the answer would obviously be a 'yes'. I reminded myself that Steve was a gentleman and would never joke about something so serious. I guessed that I wanted some reassurance, to know that this wasn't all a joke.

"Yes." he replied simply, his tone soft and gentle. Steve reminded me of a puppy dog, having the ability to be cute at some points and vicious at others. He seemed so innocent in that moment and I wanted to take him away from the battle, but I knew that he would be too stubborn, and heavy, to move.

"Why did you ask?" I said, looking up to pierce into his beautiful baby blue eyes that seemed bluer than usual. Perhaps the sun made them that way. I did notice that whenever the sun was shining his eyes seemed to brighten. His eyes seemed to be the only bright thing about him when his eyelids were that droopy from sleep deprivation. "I know you said that it may be the last battle we have, but is that the only reason?"

He cupped my face gently with his hands and stroked it softly. "Do you want the truth?" he asked and I nodded. He shut his eyes and took one of his hands away, slipping it into his pocket. He pulled something out of it and opened his palm to reveal a ring. "It was my mother's." he explained and focused his eyes back onto mine again. "I've been wanting to ask you for the past couple of days, but with everything that's happened, things just seemed to get in the way."

I shakily let out a breath as my lips curved into a smile. Tears started forming in my eyes as I remembered all the times that we had together - kissing in the restaurant, working together in the team, me being taken away and then being returned to Steve. It was like a video montage playing through my head of everything we had done. I wanted to thank him for being such an amazing person, but I didn't want to ruin the moment. "Maria Hill, you are the only thing that makes sense to me. You are the reason I wake up in the morning and the last thing I think about before I go to sleep. You have changed me so much..." he whispered and smiled lovingly at me, one of his hands stroking the side of my cheek and catching the tears that fell.

"You've made me human. You've made me believe in myself. And, most importantly, you've made me realise that this is the century that I'm supposed to be in. I was born to be put in the ice and wake up in this time, because I was born to be with you." The more he talked, the deeper I fell in love with him, which I didn't think was possible. "And that's why I'm here now with this ring in my hand asking you if you would do me the honour...of being my wife."

I pursed my lips as I tried to contain the smile that was threatening to spill on my face. Instead of holding it back, I let my smile slowly rise up on my lips. I leapt forward and wrapped my arms around his shoulder, encasing him in a hug.

"Is that a yes?" he asked and I quickly pulled back, realising that I hadn't even answered. I chuckled at my stupid behaviour and smiled widely.

"Of course I'll marry you." I replied, my tone higher than it would usually be. Steve let a sigh of relief out of his lips and I laughed at his nervousness. He took my left hand in his and slipped the ring onto my fourth finger. He pulled my hand up and kissed it before capturing me by his lips. The kiss was passionate, yet sweet, and had me hanging onto his shoulders for dear life. I felt his arms slither round my waist and lift me up into the air, causing me to squeal quietly.

"Put me down, you stupid idiot." I said, playfully slapping his back. He laughed and gently placed me back on the ground.

"Let the arguments begin." Sam shouted from the car. I looked over and all of them were peering over at us from behind the van and get-away car, apart from Bucky who was leaning against the bonnet of the car, smiling at the two of us.

"Shut up, Samuel." Steve said and Sam shook his head widely, worried that calling Sam by his full name would become a thing.

"No, no, no. You have never called me that before. This is her fault." Sam said, pointing at me with fake anger. I loved winding Sam up.

"Hey, don't anger the fiancee. She's a badass." Steve said, smiling and kissing my cheek as we walked over to the group. Clint gasped and looked at Steve with disbelief.

"Language." Clint scolded and we all laughed, apart from Scott who was looking at us all confused.

"You lot are crazy." he said, tightening up the belt on his suit.

Once everyone was finally dressed, we came together. "Sam and Bucky - you guys are stationed at the terminal. Maximoff, Clint - you two are at the parking deck. Our aim is to get to the chopper, but if that doesn't work, they must've come here in something and I'm guessing that it was a helicarrier. We find it and go in that. I'm going out first, Antman stand by for instructions."

"Yes, Captain America." Everyone could tell that Scott was completely over-excited about meeting Steve and all the other Avengers...but mostly Steve. My fiance was quite the catch. _My fiance...hmm...I could get used to that._ Maria Rogers. Mrs Maria Rogers. I could happily live with that.

"What about me?" I asked, realising that he hadn't factored me into the plan.

Steve turned to me and said "I need you to get to the helicarrier first, just in case. Once Sam informs of the location, use this to get yourself there." He was holding out a black glove that had a small red button on it. It certainly didn't look like the newest technology around and I looked up at him, confused.

"What is it?" I asked and he smiled.

"Put it on your right hand." he said and I did so, the material feeling canvas like and not sot at all, but comfortable enough to wear. "Press the button." he said and I followed his orders, resulting in a few gasps from the group.

"What is it?" I asked confused, bu when I looked at my body I discovered that the glove had made me entirely invisible. "Woah. Cool."

We were in our position, me standing by a pillar so that I was concealed, but I could still see the action. Steve came over to me and softly kissed my head. "I'll see you soon."

"Bye." I whispered and opened my eyes as he pulled away. He gave me a small cute smile before running off, shield in hand, to get onto the helicopter. Before he could get there, Iron Man shot something at the copter that made it malfunction.

Iron Man and War Machine landed in front of Steve. " _Wow, it's so weird how you run into people at the airport. Don't you think that's weird?"_ he asked Rhodey who agreed with him. Steve tried to explain that the psychiatrist was behind everything, but before he could finish explaining T'Challa jumped over a plane and landed near the group.

 _"Captain."_ he greeted, his strong Wakandan accent coming through.

 _"Your highness."_ Steve replied, trying to be respectful to the King.

 _"Anyway,"_ Tony butted in. _"Ross gave me 36 hours to bring you in. That was 24 hours ago. Can you help a brother out?"_

 _"You're after the wrong guy."_

 _"Your judgement is askew. Your old war buddy killed innocent people yesterday."_ Why couldn't Tony see sense for once?

 _"And there are 5 more super soldiers just like him. I can't let the doctor find them first, Tony I can't."_

To my surprise, Natasha came round the corner and started speaking. I definitely didn't expect her to stay on Tony's side after everything that had happened. _"Steve, You know what's about to happen. Do you really want to punch your way out of this one?"_

Steve didn't reply and I heard Tony sigh from being bored with the situation. _"All right, I've run out of patience. Underoos!"_ I thought Tony was going made until a man in a red suit flew in, reminding me Natasha a bit. I wondered why he had a spider on his back. He took Steve's shield with some kind of web and locked his hands with the same material. _"Nice job, kid."_

 _"Thanks. Well, I could've stuck the landing a little better."_ A kid? Tony was bringing a kid into battle? What had he turned into? From the sounds of it, he couldn't have been younger than eighteen years old, which was much older than the age that I started, but he didn't seem to be that experienced. If he was, he would not have pointed out the faults in his landing.

"Lang, go and wait at the shield. Cap will give you a signal." I said over the comms.

 _"On it."_ he replied and I saw a little figure go past the back of Iron Man, War Machine, Spider-Man and Black Widow.

The man, who had now introduced himself as 'Spider-Man', shut up when Tony told him to stop. _"You've been busy."_

 _"And you've been a complete idiot."_ Tony scolded. _"Dragging in Clint, rescuing Wanda from a place she doesn't even want to leave. A safe place."_

 _"Yeah right."_ I heard Wanda whisper on our comms set that Tony couldn't hear. I smirked at her attitude, but went back to watching the group.

 _"I'm trying to keep you from tearing the Avengers apart."_

 _"You did that when you signed."_ Steve argued and they continued their bickering until Sam's voice seemed to break the feud.

 _"We found it. The quinjet's in Hanger 5, North runway."_ he said and I used the glove, the invisibility going over my body. I saw Lang expand to his real size and give Steve back his shield.

 _"I believe this is yours, Captain America."_ he said. He was nearly as bad as Coulson. I took the outside route to the helicarrier, seeing at Sam and Bucky were taking the inside route. I rounded the entrance that Steve had come out of and quietly made my way towards Hanger 5. I noticed Natasha turn her head in my direction at one stage, but she didn't act upon it. I figured she must've dismissed the noise as nothing.

My attention was drawn away when I saw Stark's team leap into action and gun fire started to go off. I saw Steve engaging in a fight with T'Challa and I did my best to distance myself from the fight like Steve had asked. I snuck my way round the airport, managing to not be noticed by anyone. I stuck to the very edges of the building to keep out of harm, but had the temptation to go and join the fight.

I continued running towards the hanger when an explosion knocked me off my feet, causing me to hit the wall of the building. I kept quiet when I felt pain rocket through my head, not wanting Steve to get distracted or the others to notice me. When I looked up, I saw my team running towards Iron Man's. I hated that the team had become split, but this was the way it had to be. I even saw Nat and Clint fighting each other, which didn't seem to feel right.

I saw Nat close to kicking Clint in the face, but Wanda attached her powers to her foot and dragged her away, her head hitting a plane. _"You're throwing your punches."_ Wanda said and ran off. Clint looked at her and then back to Nat, running towards her. _Screw this._ I ran towards Nat and Clint, looking around to check for the other team before undoing my invisibility. Clint looked at me confused as he checked Natasha's vitals. I pressed my comms button to mute my voice and then did the same for Clint and Natasha.

"You're meant to be going to the helicarrier." Clint told me as he stroked Natasha's face. She was slowly regaining her surroundings.

"Screw that. She's one of my best friends." I told him and he bit his lip before nodding. We were betraying our team to help her out, but we had to.

"Clint?" Nat asked and he nodded slowly.

"Yeah, it's me. Are you okay?" he asked, helping her to sit up.

"I've been better." she replied and then looked at me. "Don't shoot me, I'm on your side." I raised my eyebrows, not sure about whether to believe her or not. I looked at Clint and he nodded as if to give me confirmation that it was true.

"She's not lying." Clint said and kissed Nat's head, closing his eyes. He pulled away and looked back at me. "We couldn't tell Steve and the others, because we had to make the fight look real." he explained as we helped Nat stand. I felt the pain in my neck twinge slightly, but ignored it as we spoke.

"You need to get back to the battle." Natasha reminded us both. "I can go with Ria to the helicarrier." she told us and we both nodded. I quickly hugged Nat tightly, my arms wrapping around her like a clamp. "Just been injured remember."

"Oh, sorry." I apologised and immediately let her go. I smiled at her and she smiled back at me. "I'm just glad your with us."

She shook her head. "I could never be against you." she replied and reached for her neck, kneading out all of the knots in it. She turned to Clint and looked into his eyes. "I love you." she whispered and reached to touch his face, thumb stroking over his cheek. They both closed their eyes as Clint came forward to seal their lips in one strong kiss. I had never seen them so close before and I could see how much they were worried about each other. It was the same worry that me and Steve had for each other.

They pulled away and Clint whispered "I love you too." before letting Natasha come with me to the helicarrier. She watched him run away and turned to face me.

"Nice ring, by the way. Rob a jewellery store before you came here?" she asked, smirking as we hid behind a half-destroyed aeroplane. I glanced down at the engagement ring and smiled.

"Yeah, that's _exactly_ what we did." I joked and she smiled.

"Congratulations." she said, excitement in her eyes as well as her face. There were only a few times that I had seen Romanoff really happy, those moments mainly when she was with Clint or something incredible was going on.

"Thank you. Now, how are we going to get you there?" I asked her and she gestured down to the glove.

"It's the GD-700 model, right?" she asked and I shrugged.

"I dunno. Steve just gave it to me." I said and she sighed.

"Hopless." she replied and took her hand in my gloved one, pressing the button. We had now both become invisible, which made me appreciate how awesome a glove could really be.

"Okay, let's go." I whispered and we headed off to the hanger. As soon as we arrived, we looked back and saw a big version of Scott stomping round the place.

"How the fuck did that happen?" Nat asked as we stepped closer to the helicarrier.

"I honestly have no clue. That man is mad." I replied as I stepped onto the runway of the plane. I looked back at Natasha who was standing at the bottom. "What are you doing? Come on..." I said, waiting for her to step up and join me.

She shook her head. "Someone has to talk some sense into Stark and I don't think the others are going to do it." she said and I furrowed my eyebrows.

"God knows what Stark'll do when he finds out you betrayed him." I argued, stepping down a few steps on the ramp.

"I'll manage." she replied. Suddenly, our attention was drawn by a whirring sound and a dark shadow being cast over the entrance of the hanger. I saw Steve and Bucky start to run towards us as Wanda held up the metal that was threatening to block the entrance. T'Challa was coming in behind them and I was feeling my heartbeat increase at the thought of them not making it.

I turned to Natasha again. "Get inside. I'll take care of T'Challa." she said and I nodded, forcing myself to go inside the helicarrier and not run up to hug her. I got into the helicarrier and set up the start controls, watching as Natasha talked with Steve and Bucky, hand out straight. _She wouldn't double-cross us, would she?_

All thoughts of her turning her back on me were gone when she shot T'Challa in the chest with a widow bite. They ran onto the helicarrier and I immediately started the launch sequence when they came through the door. "Ria, get us out of here." Steve ordered and I nodded, pushing the helicarrier forward and out of the hanger.

It was only a few seconds before I heard Steve shout "We've got people tailing us."

"Anyone on our side after them?" I asked.

"Sam's on it." he replied and started to talk with Bucky in the background. I used the camera on the back of the plane to see what was going on. I smiled when I saw that we were getting further away from Iron Man and War Machine, but my smile soon dropped when I saw Rhodey fall and Tony go after him.

"What's going on? Is Rhodey okay?" I asked into the comms unit and Steve came by my side, confused by my new interest. "Someone answer me, god dammit."

 _"Rhodey's been hit by Vision."_ Clint said and I fought the desire to turn back and check on him.

"Is he okay?" I asked. The man that I would one day marry looked at me and gestured to take over the wheel for him. I nodded and stepped away from the control panel, noticing Bucky slumping in one of the chairs, looking at the floor with regret. I could tell that he was blaming himself for everything and that he probably didn't feel like he was worth it. I would have to talk with him.

 _"I don't know. I don't think he's dead, but whatever's happened...it's not good."_

 **Hello :) I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. I've been away for 2 and a half weeks, so it's been so impossible to update sooner. We are so close to the end of this story, which brings up the question. Is Steve going to survive or not? Hmmm...interesting! I will most likely do a sequel to this, but it won't be for a while. Keep reviewing and keep reading as we are almost near the end. Thank you to everyone for following and reviewing this. 2 or 3 more chapters perhaps. Maybe even 4? Please tell me whether you want a sequel or not. PLEASE REVIEW! It would mean the world to me. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Sorry if there were any mistakes and please point them out if there were any.**


	34. The End

**Hey! The final chapter has arrive! i had to think a lot about this and I really hope you review this chapter, because I put a lot of work into it. Hope you like it. I felt like I needed to just get this chapter out there. Sorry if there are any mistakes.**

 **Whoever the guest was who said that they had nothing but love for this story, thank you! I really appreciate reviews being thrown my way. Hopefully these last few chapters will really grab your attention. :)**

Since we had recaptured Bucky, I hadn't really spoken to him, apart from talking about the mission. I walked over to him, taking out my communication device from my ear and putting it on a side desk. I cautiously came and sat down next to him, the tilting of his head being the only sign that he realised I was next to him. "Can I call you Bucky?" I began, knowing that Steve often used that name to talk to him. "I don't want to cause any flashbacks by doing so."

"It's fine." He replied and I nodded, pushing my hands against my thighs as I built up my courage to talk to him. He was an ex-assassin. One false move and he could kill me, Steve's fiancée or not. He was back to his 'normal' state that wasn't controlled by HYDRA, but I didn't want to push it back, even just a little bit.

"Did you get hurt during the fight?" I asked, looking over his body to scan to wounds.

"Not really." He replied, shrugging, and went back to staring at the floor. _Wow...this was awkward._

"Well, if you need me to stitch you up then i would be more than happy to." I told him and he questioningly looked at me. I wondered what was running through that man's head. Everything must've been a threat to him, maybe even Steve. I doubted it, but perhaps it was true and Bucky didn't fully trust him.

"Why should I put my faith in you? You are getting married to my best friend, but I don't know anything about you." he said, as if I would need his approval to marry Steve. They seemed overly protective of each other.

"I was brought into S.H.I.E.L.D as Fury's-"

"No." He said. "That's information that's in the files. I know all that. You became an Avenger a week or so ago."

"Yeah, I got a long time as my superhero alter ego." I sarcastically pointed out, which brought a smirk out of the fellow. It definitely wasn't something that I didn't expect to see from him. I was surprised that he would be like that. From what Steve had told me, Bucky was tormented by his own mind, the memories of his time at HYDRA being the only things that he could remember. I wondered whether Bucky could remember any time that he spent with Steve before he went off to war. "What do you wanna know?" I asked casually, relaxing back against my chair as I forgot the threat that the assassin next to me possessed.

"How did you meet Steve?" he asked. I hadn't thought about the first time that me and Steve met for a while. I explained the Bucky that my position in S.H.I.E.L.D meant that I worked for the Avengers often and that once I had finished my contract at Stark Industries, Tony offered me a job at the Avengers Tower. I saw Bucky flinched when I mentioned the man's name, but didn't want to ask him and bring up any memories, so I carried on with my explanation, the thought of Bucky and Steve being friends with Stark's father playing around in the back of my mind.

"I started going on many missions with him and then the rest of the team, spending more and more time with Steve. I found myself thinking about nothing but him and we ended up kissing...right before I was taken into custody for apparently killing a bunch of S.H.I.E.L.D agents."

"That's a short beginning to a relationship." he replied and I chuckled quietly.

"Yeah, you could say that." I replied. Someone took my identity to kill those 29 S.H.I.E.L.D agents and it made me realise how me and Bucky had gone through a similar experience, obviously him going through more torment than me. Someone took my identity and they killed whereas the Winter Soldier took Bucky completely and used him to kill people. What a cruel world it was... It was clear that when Bucky was in his right mind, he wouldn't intentionally hurt someone innocent, but the rest of the world had a warped image of him. I felt so sorry for him. "After Steve broke me out of custody, we had a full on relationship as I started to become one of the Avengers." I nearly mentioned how Tony fashioned my suit, but decided against it to stop Bucky feeling any discomfort.

"And then you got engaged?" he asked, incredulously.

I shrugged and nodded my head. "It was quick, but we both know that there is no one else for us." I said, flicking my gaze to Steve who was piloting the ship. I could see the side of his face, twitching slightly as he day-dreamed. I always thought he was so sweet when he did that. I stayed looking at him as I continued to talk to Bucky. "He's different to anyone that I've ever met in my life and to spend a week without him would probably break me." My gaze locked on the floor as I tried not to get emotional. Bucky must've thought I was pathetic. "I have never had anyone mean this much in such a short amount of time. I never loved anyone before I met him."

I looked up at Bucky who was gritting his together, which made me wonder whether Barnes had any feelings towards Steve. If so, I must've been torturing him. I knew I was engaged to Steve, but the worrying thought Bucky and Steve being together back in the 1940's ran through my head. I didn't care if they did do anything, but Steve was my fiance and I would feel bad if I had intruded on their relationship. "What is it?" I asked him lightly, not wanting to full on question him about what happened in the 1940's, if anything did happen.

"It sounds like a nice life." Bucky said, dropping his head a little. His black hair shaded his eyes so that I couldn't see them and I wondered whether that was his way of protecting himself against the world. Perhaps that was why he never cut it. Suddenly, I understood why James was so irritated. He thought that he would never get that life because of the person that he was. I sighed and cautiously placed a hand on his shoulder, not wanting him to strike out against me. I noticed him flinch at the contact, but he didn't move away from me. Maybe I had gained more of his trust?

"It's a life that you could have too. One day." I told him, but he shook his head.

"Never." he replied, shortly and without emotion. "I will never have that life." His voice was determined and set, making it seem like I couldn't change his mind.

"Bucky?" I asked, but he didn't make any sign of movement. "Bucky, look at me..." I said, trying not to make it sound like an order. To my relief, he did turn his head to look at me, but his eyes didn't have a shred of hope left. I could see this empty shell of a man and knew that I had to stop him from giving up on the chance of love. "This is probably the cheeesiest thing I've ever said, but love changes who you are. God knows it changed me." I said, gesturing my head over to Steve. I couldn't read his facial expression. It hadn't changed since he turned his head.

"Just promise me that if you ever find yourself feeling that way, you go with it?" I asked and I could see him contemplating the idea. I was tempted to say 'If you ever find yourself feeling that way _again_ ', but didn't. I had no idea whether he had a love that waited for him in the past. "I'm not saying it will happen." I added, stroking his shoulder lightly. "But if it does, at least consider running with it." I decided to leave that conversation there, not wanting to provoke him. I slid my hand off of his shoulder and placed it back next to me.

"Anyway, you know the rest of the story." I saw him visibly relax and I knew it was from the topic change. I knew never to bring up love again after that. "What do you want to know next? Favourite colour?" I asked and he shrugged, going back to leaning against the back of his seat rather than putting his weight forward and leaning with his forearms on his knees. "It's blue, by the way."

"No surprise there." Bucky scoffed and I raised an eyebrow. He chuckled and rolled his head to the side to face me. "Steve's eye colour and part of the American flag. Of course it was going to be that colour."

I opened my mouth in fake shock. "James Buchannon Barnes, I'll have you know I like the colour blue because of the sea." I said and he raised my eyebrow at me. I pouted my lips. "It may also be to do with Steve's eye colour." I admitted and he laughed at me. I shoved his shoulder and he raised his eyebrow at me again, wondering what the problem was. "What's your then?"

"Brown." he replied in a cool, unnerving tone. I enjoyed seeing him open up with me. It made me see what he was really like without Steve being there. I noticed that Bucky seemed to feel under pressure when Steve was around, pressure to remember the memories they shared.

"You were going on about my colour choice of blue, but you decide with something as boring as brown? Please explain your unusual colour choice." I replied and he smirked. His eyes seemed to fade for a second before coming back to the room and I could tell he was reliving a memory.

"One of the only memories that I have of Steve is of us when we were about eleven years old." he began, sounding like a story teller. A very good story teller in fact, because I was already hook on the story. "It was a Saturday in July and me and him had gone off on one of our adventures."

"Did you do that often?" I asked, crossing my legs on my seat as I awaited the answer to my question.

He spoke with a sad smile on his face, his eyes concentrating on the ground again. "The records say that we used to play together as children." I saw him gulp, making me not want to interrupt him again, and continue with the story. "Anyway, the one that I can remember is when me and him were out in the woods somewhere, playing by the stream. He pushed me in - I was a lot skinnier back then." he noted and I nodded. "I got absolutely covered in water. I was going to push him in, but remembered that he would probably freeze to death being the skinny lad he was, so I pushed him in the mud instead. We ended up having a huge mud fight that resulted in us walking home, because the bus wouldn't allow us on." I laughed to myself, imagining the scene that Bucky described. I never though Steve would do such crazy things back in the 1940's. It sounded like it was really fun to live in the era. If Tony ever invented time travel, I would be sure to tell him to take me, Steve and Bucky there.

"And that's why brown is your favourite colour?" I asked and he shrugged. He seemed to shrug a lot.

"It's also because my first dog was the same colour of brown and used to get muddy a lot."

"What was the dogs name?"

"Ruffles. Named after the sweets. We used to have them all the time as ki-." he said, stopping mid-sentence and furrowing his eyebrows.

"You remembering something else?" I asked and he nodded, slowly.

"I think the longer that I'm spending out of the cryogenic stasis, the more I remember." he told me and I smiled at him, happy that he was getting some of his memories back. I sat back down in my seat and stared at the ceiling as James talked some more. "I never know what happened to that dog..." he said, a small amount of pain in his voice. It made me sad that both Steve and Bucky had to move on from their previous life and forget about what they had left behind. A silence spread between us and I cursed myself for bringing up a subject that would make him upset.

"You know, I think they still sell them." I said, hoping that it would bright his mood, but he just looked at me in confusion.

"What? Dogs?" he asked, making me sound like an idiot. Bucky must've been thinking 'Of course they still sell dogs. Are you crazy?'.

"No, no. I mean Raspberry Ruffles. There used to be a tuck shop at S.H.I.E.L.D and I remember them being there. There are quite a few post offices that sell them too I think." I suggested to him and a brief smile spread across his face.

After talking about how sweets had changed over time and then technology, I asked Bucky if he wanted some time to himself. He told me that he needed to 're-calibrate his arm' or whatever that meant. I left him to it and joined Steve by the front, sitting in the chair that was next to him. "Hey honey." I whispered and kissed his cheek before settling in the co-pilot seat.

"Hello, future Mrs Rogers." he drawled and a smile set on my face at that thought.

"Who says we are keeping your name?" I asked with a humorous tone to my voice to assure him that I wasn't serious.

"To be honest, I really don't mind what name we have as long as we are together." he said, sounding too sweet for me to deal with. I wanted to take him away from the control desk and have my way with him, but I knew that was totally inappropriate, especially with Bucky on the plane. It wasn't that I wanted to have sex with him, I just wanted to be close to him.

"Steve and Maria Rogers." I tested out and then flipped it round. "Maria and Steve Hill." I thought about the two names in my head for a while.

"D'you know what, doll?" he said, my insides tensing at his pet name for me. Even though it was comparing me to some kind of toy, not that Steve would do that, I thought the nickname was cute. I imagined that Bucky would say it to whoever he fell in love with in the future. "I think I prefer my last name as Hill."

I looked at him, slightly shocked. "Are you sure? I mean...the whole idea of Captain America is that he is called Captain Rogers, otherwise known as Steve Rogers. Are you sure you want to give that up?"

"I don't care about record books and the past. I'm really not that fussed about what our last names are. I only care about what we are." he said, grabbing my hand and lifting it up to his lips. I sighed to myself, fighting off a grin as I relaxed back into my chair, mine and Steve's hands now linked. "Besides, I've practically given up the role of Captain America anyway as I'm now a criminal."

I turned my head to look at his eyes that were focusing on the path ahead. "Does that mean...that your giving up being Captain America?" I asked, slowly coming to the realisation that Steve would no longer be the 'American hero'. _Was this my fault? Did being taken by the government cause him to not sign the accords?_ I felt guilt wash over my body and tried not to be consumed by it.

"I think it's the right thing to do." he answered, his voice decisive and firm.

"Is this because I got taken in by the government?" I asked and he turned his head to me, his face contorted in an emotion that I couldn't quite make out. "If so, I didn't want you to give up your title just because of that."

"Don't think it's your fault for even a second. I wouldn't have signed the accords whether you got taken into custody or not." he argued, squeezing my hand as he smiled softly. I smiled back at him, looking into my lover's eyes before they turned back to flying the helicarrier we were in. Before I knew what was happening, I felt my body become awfully tired and my eyes began to close.

I opened my eyes a few hours later, realising that I had fallen asleep when I saw the world at a diagonal angle, my head leaning against the wall of the helicarrier. My hand was still stretched out across the stairs, intertwined with Steve's. "Glad to see you awake, doll. We're nearly there." Steve's sweet voice beckoned me to wake up more and I did so, taking my hand out of his to reach my arms in the air and stretch.

"How much longer?" I asked, moving my head side to side to remove the aches in it.

"5 minutes at most." he replied and I nodded, checking my holsters to make sure they had my guns in. I checked the magazine, realised it was full and then placed it back in it's slot.

"What's gonna happen to your friends?" I turned around quickly, surprised to see Bucky sitting in a chair that was close behind Steve. He locked eyes with me for a moment and I smiled lightly at him, moving back to face the front before I could see his response. His mouth was set in a thin line, obviously not happy with what was going on. The question sounded like one he had wanted to get out for a while.

"Whatever it is, I'll deal with it." Steve replied and my thoughts went to Natasha. I hoped that she was okay after being exposed as a traitor to T'Challa and the rest of Stark's team. I also hoped that Rhodes was okay. I would need to read the news reports when I got to a place with WiFi to ensure that he was safe. He could've been dead for all I knew and I wasn't there to support him. It was eating away at me and I tried not to think about it.

"I don't know if I'm worth all this, Steve." he said. I felt my heart ache at his words. Bucky was worth 'all this', because none of this was Bucky's fault. If all the Avengers decided not to sign, then maybe we would've had a fighting chance, but we had no hope when the team was divided into two.

"What you did all those years...it wasn't you." Steve stressed. I could see the pain in Steve's eyes. He wanted Bucky to go back to his normal self, but he knew that it wasn't going to happen soon. However, I could tell that he wanted James to at least stop blaming himself for every little thing that happened to Steve or his friends.

"Steve's right." I added. "You didn't have a choice."

"I know." he said, but I didn't believe for a second that he was thinking the way we were. "But I did it."

The rest of the journey was silent until we landed. Bucky was preparing some weapons whilst Steve turned to me, holding his warm hands against my shoulders. "I need you to stay here." he told me and I almost felt like slapping him.

"Excuse me? I did not come this far to be told to stay behind." my voice suddenly getting very loud, which caused Bucky to glance over at us from where he was standing on the other side of the carrier.

"Look," he said, using his fingers to weave into my hair. Usually he would take a loose hair strand and put it behind my ear, but because of the battle, I decided to keep my hair up in a very tight ponytail to stop any hair from getting in the way. "I can't lose anyone else, okay? I know you can defend yourself, so I am giving you the task of staying here to keep watch and I know that's a really bad job, but I don't want you hurt. Also, if someone has followed us, we have the element of surprise." His plan actually did make sense and I nodded, agreeing to it.

"Okay." I whispered, looking into a beautiful blue eyes as I reached a hand up to delicately touch his face. I felt a knot in my stomach at the thought of Steve not making it out of the mission alive. He was walking into a building that might had traps in it, killing him immediately. I had no idea what was going to happen to him and the thought of losing him made my eyes force back tears. "Promise me you'll get out of this alive?" I asked and he looked at me, a slight spread of confusion across his face. "Promise me." I demanded, my voice turning threatening, because I was scared of losing him. I loved him so much. I had to know that he would return out of there alive.

He dipped his head and kissed my lips lightly. I shut my eyes and drunk in the soft feeling of his lips against mine, remembering the feel of them before he pulled away and stroked my head softly. He came down to my ear and whispered "I promise" as he pulled me into a tight hug, my arms slipping around his waist and gripping him tightly. _I don't want this to be goodbye._

He slowly released his grip and went to pick up his shield. I dried my eyes and looked over at Bucky who was clicking his gun. "Hey, Bucky?" I called and he turned his head to me. "You'd better get out of this alive too. I can't go without my two best boys. Promise?" I asked, knowing that he would've heard the conversation with his super-soldier hearing. He smirked and nodded.

"Promise." he replied and walked towards the door that they were going to exit out of. They stood there as I went over to the control desk and pushed the button to lift up the helicarrier doors, a cold draft seeping into the jet. I saw them talking to each other about something, a genuine smile coming onto Bucky's face. I looked down at my ring and rubbed my finger over it, begging that Steve would come back safely to me so that we could get married and finally live our lives in peace. That was my dream.

I watched as Steve clapped Bucky on the back and they exited the helicarrier, Steve looking back at me one last time before leaving for the base. I closed the door once they had left and went to the control desk, looking on the camera to see what was going on. I couldn't see anything much, a piece of snow blocking the view, but I could make out two figures entering the building.

It had been five minutes. I was already bored. I was worried about the boys, of course, but I wanted to go with them and make sure that the both of them were okay. Suddenly, something captivated my attention. I saw a red and gold suit make it's way towards me and shook my head. "Oh, hell no." I whispered, gritting my teeth as I quickly put on my outdoor coat and grabbed a large gun. I made sure that the safety was off as I pressed the button to open up the helicarrier door. Stepping out, I aimed my gun at where Iron Man was standing, a few metres away. His hand was up, repluse blaster aimed at my chest.

"Where are the others?" I asked him, refusing to break my position. I held the gun tightly in my hand, trying not to let it slip. The snow was blowing everywhere and I tried not to let it show that I was finding it hard to see Tony.

"It's just me." he replied in his robotic voice.

"Bullshit." I replied, but he put his hand down to show that he didn't mean any harm. He took a step closer, but I clicked my gun, preparing to shoot. "Don't move." I ordered and he put his hands up as he let his helmet fold back, revealing his real face.

"Maria, listen to me. I know Barnes didn't kill all those people." he said. I had trouble deciding whether Tony was telling the truth or not. "I was wrong."

"Well, that's something you don't here everyday." I replied and he rolled his eyes like he had heard it for the ten thousandth time.

"Look, I'm not here with Ross or anyone else, okay? I went and spoke to Sam to find out where you guys were. I needed to get here."

"So why are you here?" I asked, wanting to know his true intentions. He sighed and shook his head.

"I want to help you catch this guy." he said and I took a moment to consider what would happen if I put my gun down. Thinking it was the right thing to do, I put my gun down at my side and stood forward to get to Tony.

"Have you got full power?" I asked, looking down at the suit that he was wearing. I hadn't seen the model before, but it was similar to his original.

"What am I? An amateur? Of course." he said, scoffing at my question.

"Good, you'll probably need it." I said, walking towards where Steve and Barnes had entered the building after pressing the button the shut the helicarrier doors. As we stepped into the elevator, I asked "Have you spoken to Pepper yet?"

He shook his head and looked at the ground. "Why? Did you want tips on how you want your wedding?" he asked and I looked at the ring that was glistening on my finger.

"Sorry, I didn't-"

"Didn't know I was going to propose? No one did so I wouldn't worry about it." Tony said, his teeth gritted. I could tell he was trying to calm himself down. "But no, I haven't spoken to Pepper. She's been ignoring all my calls."

"What's going on between you two?" I asked and he sighed, shutting his eyes as he cleared his throat. He looked up at me, a hint of tears glazing over his eyes. In a split second, he blinked and the tears were no where to be seen, his eyes looking normal again.

"She wanted a break from me." he admitted as he stared straight ahead.

"But why? I thought you two were perfect for each other..." I said, touching the top of my trousers as I checked my other gun was still there.

"Yeah, well...she obviously didn't think that." he sighed. I kept my head forward, not wanting him to think I was intruding. "Four words..." he said softly. "I am Iron Man."

I now understood why Pepper couldn't be with him any longer. Iron Man was too much for her. I related to the struggle as I worried about Steve constantly when he would be on missions, but Pepper had been through more of it, through eight years of it. She must've finally snapped. Before I could tell him I was sorry, the elevator landed at it's destination and I immediately pulled up my gun, Tony putting his helmet back on as he held up his hands to attack any threats. The doors slid open and Steve was standing there, shield in hand. Bucky was close behind him with a gun aimed in our direction.

"You seem a little defensive." Tony said casually as he walked towards the pair, helmet down. Steve lowered his shield slightly, but still kept it up by him. He looked at me confused and then back to Tony.

"It's been a long day." Steve argued and he shrugged before looking up to Barnes.

"At ease, Soldier. I'm not currently after you." Stark said, but Bucky didn't move from his position.

"Then why are you here?" Steve asked, his shield slowly rising again as he kept his eyes on Tony. I wasn't the problem. Perhaps Steve thought I was being held captive or something.

"Maybe, your story is not so crazy." Tony admitted. I don't think Tony has ever apologised or said he was wrong about anything...ever, so it was unusual that he was like this. "Maybe." he mused and I glowered my eyes at him slightly, not that he was aware. "Ross has no idea I'm here. I'd like to keep it that way. Otherwise, I've got to arrest myself." he finished, leaning against the wall of the building. I stayed in the middle of the corridor.

"Well, that sounds like a lot of paper work." Steve said, a smile teasing it's way onto his face as he came round to believing Tony and his story. Stark looked at Barnes. "It's good to see you, Tony." Steve lowered his shield, sounding like he had genuinely missed the pain in the ass named Tony Stark.

"You too, Cap." he replied and looked up at Barnes giving an exasperated sigh. "Manchurian candidate, you're killing me. There's a truce here, you can drop it." Steve put his hand up to Bucky, telling him that he could lower his weapon. Not looking too happy about doing so, Bucky pointed his weapon to the ground, but kept his eyes on Stark.

We walked through the base, Tony at the front, Steve and me behind him and then Bucky at the back with his gun constantly in his hand. "You okay?" Steve asked me and I nodded quickly.

"Right as rain." I replied trying to be cheerful and I was happy to see that a smile had made it's way onto his face.

"Good." he replied as he looked at me briefly before going back to scanning the room.

"I've got heat signatures." Tony called.

"How many?" Steve asked.

"Uh, one." he replied, which gave me some sort of comfort. Obviously, I wasn't happy that the man was here at all, but at least he hadn't awoken the soldiers yet. We entered a large, dark room that was suddenly lit up when we stepped inside. I looked around at what seemed to be stasis chambers. Steve took the lead and only managed to go a few steps forward before a voice sounded from the speakers.

"If it's any comfort, they died in their sleep." the voice said. _Well then...there's the bad guy._ As we walked further into the facility, my hand tightened around my gun and I pulled it up, pointing it forward as I checked the room alongside Bucky. We soon realised that in the chambers were bodies. Bodies with bullets in their foreheads. "Did you really think I wanted more of you?" the voice taunted and I bit my lip in frustration. This man had killed these people, which was like killing Bucky. They couldn't help what they were.

"What the hell?" Bucky whispered. I turned to look at James and saw the gun in his hand pointed a little lower at the sight of the men. They were just like in in his eyes, warriors that had been turned into weapons. I saw him blink quickly and hold his gun up once more, ignoring the emotions he felt. I went back to my task too, looking round to try and find the murderer who had killed these people. Most of the room was still dark, the only light coming from the chambers, and I squinted as I tried to make out the surroundings.

"I'm grateful to them though. They brought you here." I felt dread build up in my stomach. The man wanted us here for a reason. It was a trap, but I couldn't figure out why.

"Steve, we should go." I whispered. He looked at me for a moment before something caught his attention. He through his shield and I could now see what he was aiming at. The shield bounced of the circular window that the 'psychologist' was hidden behind. All thoughts of leaving soon left my head as anger filled my veins. I reminded myself that this was the person who blamed Bucky for a mass explosion and killed thousands of people.

"Please, Captain." he said, almost mockingly. "The Soviets built this chamber to withstand the launch blast of a few a 100 rockets."

"I'm betting I can beat that." Stark challenged as we continued forward towards the man.

Oh, I'm sure you could, Mr. Stark. Given time. But then you'll never know why you came." _I knew this was a trap. What was this guys problem? Personal vendetta perhaps?_

"You killed innocent people in Vienna just to bring us here?" Steve asked, resentment in his voice from the thought of Vienna. I could tell when my fiance was angry and I could also tell when he was trying to control it. He was desperately trying to keep a lid on his emotions and I was worried they were going to break.

"I thought about nothing else for over a year." I saw Steve's face tense a little, trying to figure out why this man had a problem with the Avengers. I felt my muscles tighten as Steve went right up to the face of the man, only a metre away. There was the bullet and shield proof window between them, but I was worried that the man would still cause harm to Steve. "I studied you. I followed you." he explained, walking closer to Steve. I took a few more steps towards them, cautious that something bad was going to happen.

"But now that you are standing here, I just realized...there's a bit of green in the blue of your eyes. How nice to find a flaw." The man was lying. I shouldn't have been thinking about it, but he was. I had stared into Steve's eyes too many times to see green in his eyes. They were one hundred percent perfect baby blue eyes that I wanted to look at all day. Unfortunately, the situation at present was different.

"You're Sokovian." Steve stated and suddenly it all made sense - the bombings, the hate against Avengers. He was from the country that we tried to save, but failed to. "Is that what this is about?"

"Sokovia was a failed state long before you blew it to hell. no. I'm here because I made a promise." A promise...like Steve's promise.

"You've lost someone." My head snapped up at that. Steve had made a promise that he would stay alive through this. He promised me that he would come back and be with me. _I would not lose Steve like this man lost his family, would I?_

"I lost everyone." he said and I closed my eyes, trying not to think about how painful it would be to lose Steve. That wouldn't happen. "And so will you."

I saw the man move away for a moment, but reappear when something came on a screen placed next to Steve. He looked between the man and the TV. I walked towards it and translated what was said on the screen. "It says December 16, 1991. Mean anything to anyone?" I asked allowed, but didn't move my head to check anyone's responses. The man behind the glass was smirking now and I looked worriedly at Steve. He didn't smile like he usually did when I was scared. His smile would usually show that we would get through this, that everything was going to be okay, but now that he didn't smile, I realised how dependent on it I was. I needed him to smile and reassure me that everything was fine, that everything was going to work out. But no. Nothing.

Steve focused on the screen as Stark walked over to look at it. "An empire toppled by it's enemies can rise again. But one which crumbles from within...that's dead. Forever." he finished as a tape started to play. It was of a road. I had no idea why it had any relevance to any of us though.

"I know that road." Tony whispered and I came to the realisation that this was all for him. Somehow, the Sokovian was going to get Tony to hate, but the pieces of the puzzle were still forming in my head. I didn't understand. Me, Steve and Stark stared at the television whilst Barnes stood a few metres behind the back of the screen, armed at the ready. "What is this?" Tony asked, but the Sokovian didn't answer, his mouth set in a straight line as his eyes murdered into Tony's. Many Sokovians hated stark, because his weapons had helped destroy their town years ago, but I had never seen one so angry before.

A car crashed into the side of a building and a motorcycle parked alongside it. I vaguely remembered Tony's parents dying in a car crash, but that was an accident...wasn't it? I continued to watch the footage as the motorcycle engine ceased to hum. I could hear someone cry out in pain as the man got off of the bike. I saw the light reflecting off of the left arm of the man and realised that...it was Bucky.

 _"Help my wife."_ a man pleaded as he crawled from the car, not realising that Bucky had come to kill him. _"Please, help her."_ Tony's father said as James came over and pulled up the man's head. _"Sergeant Barnes."_ he said, confirming that it was Bucky. I looked up at Barnes and he was frozen on the spot, the noises probably bringing back the memories of the incident. I saw Tony tighten his jaw as he looked up at James who was slowly lowering his weapon. I knew that Stark wouldn't understand that it wasn't James' fault. James and Howard were friends back in 1945 and it must've hurt the soldier so badly to hear the deaths all over again.

I saw Tony's upset face as he watched his father get beaten to the grown with two blows of the soldier's fist. _"Howard. Howard!"_ the wife called to no response. Bucky dragged the body back to the car and put it in it's place. I saw James walked around to the other side of the car and place his fist around Tony's mother's neck as she screamed for help, soon being silenced by the soldier.

Tony's face was blank as he focused on the screen, tears forming in his eyes as he watched his parents die right in front of him. At the end, Bucky shot the camera and Tony's eyes went from the screen across to present day Bucky. I had never seen Stark so upset in his entire life. Stark lurched forward to attack James, but me and Steve kept a firm grip on his arms to stop him.

"Tony." Steve warned and Tony slowly turned his head to Steve, looking slightly deranged from seeing his parents slaughtered. I felt tears sting in my eyes as they began to fall from my face.

"Did you know?" Tony asked Steve quietly, arm still attached to him.

"I didn't know it was him." Steve lied and I could see Tony getting madder by the second.

"Don't bullshit me, Rogers!" he said, angrily. "Did you know?" he repeated, his bottom lip trembling as he awaited an answer.

"Yes." Steve answered quietly and Tony immediately stepped away from him, a furious expression on his face.

"Tony..." I whispered quietly, wiping away the tears that were falling down my cheeks. My heart was breaking at the scene and I wanted to run up and hug the man that had been so kind to me over these past few years, but I knew that he would shoot me before I got there. Steve took my hand and stroked it softly as Tony replied.

"Did you know too?" he asked, angling his head at me. His eyes were piercing into mine and I sniffled before replying to him. I was about to speak, but found myself unable to even mutter a word. Instead, I nodded my head as tears spilt down my cheeks. My throat was tight with emotion and I tried not to break down crying.

"I wanted...to tell yo-" I started, finding the ability to speak, but Tony cut me off.

He swung back and hit Steve in the face, which caused me to fly backwards too. We landed roughly on the ground and I heard Bucky engaging a fight with Stark as we stood, our hands no longer together. Iron Man flew around the facility with Bucky and landed on the ground with him as we ran towards them, Steve throwing his shield to hit Tony in the head with.

Steve and Tony started fighting and I watched from the sidelines before Tony threw two circular discs at Steve. They trapped his feet together and I tried not to take it to heart. The man had discovered his parents had died by hand of Bucky. It must've been breaking him. I quickly got my 'other gun' out of the top of my trousers and pressed the button on the side. My gun had now turned into my shield and I ran up to Tony, beginning to assault him with it as I tried to take him down. I forcefully shoved the shield into his back, which jolted him forward.

"It wasn't his fault." I shouted at him as I dodged a repulse beam, rolling to my side as I hid behind the shield from his attacks. Me and James were trying to take him down from both sides, working effectively as a team.

He shoved James into a wall and I ran after him, quickly noting that Steve had gotten free of his restraints like I knew he would. Tony shot a missile out, but it missed Bucky, nearly hit me, but ended up exploding into the wall of the facility, the debris crumbling down from the side. As my heart beat faster, I ran from where I was stationed, directly under where the falling metal was going to hit, towards Steve who was also running away.

I tried my best to get out of the hit of the metal, but it came down on top of me. Thankfully, before I got hit, I put my shield up to protect myself, but I ended up hitting myself pretty badly on the head. I lay on the floor for a few seconds, trying to keep my eyes open. Bad concussion. If I didn't recover soon, I was going to pass out.

"Get out of here!" I heard someone shout, but I was too focused on getting free of the metal to focus. It weighed heavily down on me, but I knew that it was only one of the lighter pieces of machinery.

"Maria!" I heard someone close to me shout and after a moment I recognised Steve's shield hanging above me. I closed my eyes as I felt the weight be lifted off of me and my body be dragged across the floor.

"Honey, I'm going to put you somewhere safe, okay?" Steve asked and I nodded my head, which didn't help my already blurred vision. All I could see was blue, but I knew that there were many different colours in the room. He dragged me until all I could see was grey and white. "I need you to stay here." His voice was distorted, but I managed to make out what he was saying. I saw in the blurry distance, a set of mountains that were covered in snow, but I couldn't seem to keep my eyes open for very long. I felt a warm set of lips rest against my head and before I slipped into unconsciousness, I heard someone whisper "I love you."

When I woke, my head was pounding, a sharp pain going through the back of my neck. I heard the wind blowing in the background, but no voices. The floor felt cold and I brushed my fingertips against it to get some feeling in them, the numbness making my whole body feel lifeless. I groaned as I slowly opened my eyes and tried to remember what had happened before I fell unconscious. We were fighting with Stark in the facility...because he found out his parents were dead...and something got shot, which caused a bunch of metal to collapse on us. Steve had carried me out.

As my eyes blinked awake, I noticed that my head was on it's side, looking at the side of a grey wall. I saw a body lying on the ground, Bucky's body. His arm had been taken off completely and he had blood on his chest. My heart pounded in my chest and I quickly went to him. "Bucky!" I whispered, pressing my fingers to his pulse point, relieved to know that his blood was still pumping at a rate that would allow him to stay alive, at least for the next few hours without needing medical assistance. It would give me time to figure out what had happened.

"Maria..." I heard someone barely whisper from behind me. I stood up and turned around quickly, pulling out a gun from my thigh holster. A pain shot through my neck again at the fast turn I had made. And then I felt my whole body seize up.

My hands let go of the gun they were holding, the metal quickly dropping onto the floor. I sucked in a short, cold breath as I felt tears come to my eyes. I felt my body start to tremor as I took a slow step forward. I stared at the man lying on the floor, shield implanted in his chest, and my hand shot up to cover my mouth.

"Steve..." I whispered. I felt as if my heart was pulling itself in two and my chest was being compressed to stop my lungs from breathing. "No..." I said, shaking my head, a laugh escaping from my throat as I looked across at Tony. Tears were streaming down my face as I looked at Stark's. He was leaning against a pillar, tears running down his cheeks as his eyes looked at me sorrowfully. "No..." I repeated, almost crying out the words as I realised that it wasn't a lie. He was dead.

I looked at my fiance, his eyes closed and chest not moving. "Maria, I'm sorry." Tony whispered. "I'm so sorry." he said, contorting his face as he tried to stop the flurry of tears. My vision was blurry again, not from the concussion, but from the tears that were piling up in my eyes. I slowly walked over to him, my knees shaking with every step that I took. I fell down next to him and delicately placed my hands on either side of the shield. I tried to pull it out of his chest, but I didn't have the strength, my body not able to cope with what was happening. I saw Tony move from his spot and help me pull the shield out, Steve's blood staining the bottom half from where it had been pushed into his body.

I placed a hand over his ripped chest and begged my mind to tell me that this was all a dream and that Steve was waiting for me to wake up. But I knew it wasn't a dream. It was real. Steve was...Steve was dead.

"You promised..." I spoke softly to him, moving his head so that I was cradling it in my lap. "You...you said you...w-would come out...alive." I said, my voice trembling as I carefully rubbed the side of his face with my thumb. It was then that I realised that my hands were covered in his blood and I lifted them up, looking at the ring on my left hand. The ring that he had given me. The perfect silver was now blood-stained. I placed my hand back on his chest.

"You can't do this to me!" I shouted, suddenly feeling enraged that he would leave me here by myself. "I'm not ready for this world without you being in it...none of us are..." I came round to Steve's side and wrapped my arms around his body. I cried, my head resting against his, and placed kisses across his forehead and cheeks, finally touching his cold lips with my warm ones.

I placed my head to his side and wrapped my arms around his body once more. I screamed. I just screamed, trying to get rid of the pain that I felt inside of me, wishing that someone would come and tell me that it wasn't real. Stark didn't complain. He let me scream out my pain, not that it went away afterwards. A few seconds later, I stopped screaming, but my body started shaking with sobs. I felt a soft hand placed on my right shoulder and I went to grab it before I realised it was Bucky.

I looked up at him, his face angry and pained from grief, and allowed him to put his arm around me. I didn't even take a moment to think about how it would impact Bucky, I simply cried into his shoulder as we both mourned the person that we loved the most in the world.

 **A week later**

I sat on the couch that the Wakandans had provided, staring mindlessly at the television screen, when I switched onto a channel that Stark was speaking on. He was half way through a report.

 _"To do what I needed to do to win this quickly, I knew that meant Steve and I would probably never speak again. Or be friends again. Or partners again. I told myself I was okay with it because I knew I was right and I...I knew it was saving lives. It was! It was the right thing to do! And...and...and I was willing to get in bed with people I despised to get this done. And I knew the world favours the underdog and that I would be the bad guy. I knew this and I said I was okay with it. And...and even though i said...even though I said I was willing to go all the way with it...I wasn't. And I know this because...the worst has happened. The thing I can't live with has happened. And for all our back and forth and all the things we've said and done to each other. For all the hard questions I've had to ask, and terrible lies I've had to tell...there's one thing that I'll never be able to tell him now. The one thing! The one thing that I should have told him, but now I can't...it wasn't worth it."_

Tony's speech wasn't properly rehearsed, anyone could tell that, and I could also tell that he was speaking from the heart. He really was sorry for killing Steve. I was still coming to terms with that. I had been crying constantly over the past and it had been torturous to endure. I hadn't spoken to anyway, apart from Bucky. I seemed to have a mutual understanding with him over Steve. We had been talking over the past four days and I found a friend in him, one that I never imagined having.

 _"I'm looking out at you all now and I know that I've made too many mistakes. I have. Steve Rogers was a good man and his reputation was tainted by many people, including myself."_

Stark cleared his throat and brought up his watch, tapping a few buttons as a photo was displayed on television. _"This is Colonel Helmut Zemo. He lived in Sokovia and a terrorist who sought revenge against the Avengers after losing his family during the Battle of Sokovia, becoming obsessed with beating us and destroying us. It has been in the news, but if you aren't aware already, he framed the Winter Soldier for the assassination of previous Wakandan King, T'Chaka. James Buchannon Barnes is not to blame for any of the assassinations that he completed. He was brainwashed by HYDRA and given an cybernetic limb in replacement for the arm that he lost during a train accident in the 1940's. From when he was captured by HYDRA, he would eliminate anyone who posed a threat to HYDRA, including...including my parents"_

Tony took a breath, cleared his throat and looked down at his podium. I saw his shoulder tense and relax before he looked up to meet the audience's eyes. He was standing in front of a series of reporters who were with cameras, Dictaphones and notepads. At the beginning of the speech, there was some noise of questions, but it had now died down to just Tony talking about what had happened. _"The Winter Soldier killed my parents on the 16th of December 1991. Between his missions, Barnes would be put into a cryogenic stasis, due to...due to his instability. Eventually, when he was ordered by Alexander Pierce, exposed HYDRA leader, to assassinate the former Director of S.H.I.E.L.D, Nicholas Fury, the Winter Soldier fought with Steve Rogers. Ever since the Battle of DC, Barnes has been on the run from HYDRA on a self-imposed mission to remember his past. Unfortunately, h-he was framed for the attack on the United Nations. Believe me when I say this...Barnes is not the enemy. HYDRA is. He was brainwashed into doing all of those assassinations, he didn't volunteer, which is why everybody needs to stop putting a target on his head."_

Stark took a moment to gather himself, closing his eyes and gripping tighter on the podium. _"I was shown the footage of my parent's death last week in a facility that contained dead agents that were similar to Barnes, becoming Winter Soldiers rather than living out their real lives. Inside this facility, we failed to capture Helmut Zemo, but King T'Challa did. Instead of listening to Steve, Bucky and Maria, I fought them. Maria ended up being knocked out, a large amount of metal nearly...nearly crushing her to death, metal that I caused the fall of."_

There were a few gasps in the crowd, but Tony continued, a determined look on his face. _"I shot Bucky, tearing his metal arm away from the rest of his body, something that nearly killed him."_

There was more disruption at the venue and I sat up straight, wondering whether Tony was actually going to do what I thought he was. _"And Steve..."_ he said, a tear coming down his left cheek. _"I killed Steve Rogers."_

People immediately stood up in their seats throwing questions at him and the police came to take him away, but he gestured to show that he had one more thing he wanted to say. The police allowed him, preparing the handcuffs to put on Tony. Stark looked at the camera, something that he had avoided doing for the whole conference, and gazed directly into it. _"Maria..."_ he spoke softly and I stood up as Tony addressed me. _"Wherever you are, know that I'm sorry."_ He blinked away his tears as he continued to look straight ahead. _"I'm so sorry."_ he whispered before stepping away from the microphone as he let the police come and arrest him. I saw Pepper at the sidelines, crying as he went past her, but she didn't follow him.

I reached for the remote and quickly turned off the television, trying to process what Tony had just admitted. That was the end of his career, the end of his life. He would probably never get out of jail and I prayed to god that they wouldn't kill him. Hopefully his fame and performance of saving the world, multiple times, would work in his favour and perhaps get him a shorter sentence. I would find him and bring him straight to me if that were so. I didn't forgive him for Steve's death, but I knew that I couldn't let him survive out there on his own. Breaking his out of prison was an option, but I had to deal with the other's in the Raft first.

There was a brief knock at the door and I walked towards it. Reaching for the handle, I saw my ring that still had traces of Steve's blood on it. I didn't clean the ring, not seeing the point. Shaking my head, I opened the door to stop myself from crying again. An agent was standing there, clipboard in hand and hair in a tight ponytail. She reminded me of a younger version of myself, one that would soon fall for a man way out of her league and go on to get engaged with him. "They are about to put Bucky in the cryo chamber. Would you like me to walk you there?" the woman asked and I shook my head.

"I can get there myself, thank you." I replied and she walked off, ponytail swinging behind her. I sighed to myself, trying to stop thinking about Steve, but I knew that it was never going to work. I loved him too much. I shut the door as I thought back to the last words her said to me. He said that he loved me too. Knowing that made coping a bit easier. Only a bit. I still had nightmares every night, one's that Bucky would usually comfort me after having. He wouldn't sleep, not often anyway, and if he did, he would be awoken by the sounds of my screams filling the halls.

I arrived at the room and saw Barnes sitting on the side of a table, waiting for the procedure to happen. "You sure about this?" I asked, worriedly, as I slipped onto the table beside him.

"I can't trust my own mind. So, until they figure out how to get this stuff out of my head, I think going back under is the best thing for everybody." he replied. I nodded and leaned my head against his shoulder. "Are you sure about this? Will you be okay without me?" he asked. In the usual circumstances, I would scoff at someone suggesting the idea and joke that I wouldn't need them, but the problem was, I did need Bucky and it wasn't the usual circumstance. Steve was dead.

"I'll be fine. I'm breaking the guys out of prison in two days remember. I'll have all the friends in the world to..." To what? To pick up the pieces of my broken life? My broken heart? I was nothing without Steve. Bucky was a comfort, but he would never replace the space where my heart should've been. "have around." I finished and he placed his hand on top of mine.

"If you need me, they should be able to wake me up without any problems. Not for long, but for a while." he assured me and I lifted my head off his shoulder as I nodded.

"I will be taking advantage of that on a bad day." I said, pushing myself off the table to stand, holding Bucky's hand in mine. I looked into his eyes and smiled at his sad, empty looking one's. "Thank you." I whispered and he nodded, stepping onto the floor with me.

"You've been just as much help to me as I have to you." he replied as I quickly pulled him into a hug. I hadn't thought about how the soldier might react to it. The last time I had hugged him was a week ago when I was crying in his arms, but he initiated the hug. Fortunately, he didn't have any reaction apart from putting his arms around me and hugging me back.

"I'll miss you." I whispered to him as I begged in my mind that he wouldn't forget me when he went under. I needed him to remember me. I had lost too much already.

"I'll miss you too." he replied and we pulled away from each other, knowing that he needed to be put under the ice again. I sighed as I watched him enter the container and get into position. He smiled softly at me before shutting his eyes and relaxing his face, letting the cool pressure take him over. In less than five seconds, he was gone and I was left alone. I hated the silence that filled every pore of the room. I wanted it to end and I wanted Steve's voice to end it. I wanted him to tell me that he loved me one more time. I walked towards the window and looked out to where his grave was, in the middle of the garden T'Challa owned.

The King himself walked up next to me, noticing that I was looking at the grave and smiled softly at me. "Thank you for this." I told him, trying to stop him before he could apologise for my loss again. He apologised too many times.

"Your friend and my father, they are both victims. If I can help one of them to find peace..." he replied and I turned to look at him, breaking my gaze from the grave.

"You know, if they find out he's here, they'll come for him." I said, hoping that a situation like that would never occur. I couldn't have them take Bucky too. He was Steve's best friend and I would protect him till my last breath. He was also one of my friends.

"Then, let them try." he challenged as he looked out to the forests of Wakanda. I was tempted not to ask the question I needed to, but went ahead anyway. I had nothing else to lose.

"I require your services for a break-out mission." I told him and he turned his head to look at me curiously.

"To help the ones in the Raft?" he asked and I nodded. "What do you need?" he asked and I smiled for the first time since I had been in Wakanda. It was a small smile, but a smile none the less.

"Where's my shield?"

 **Hello :) Thank you for getting to this final chapter and please don't hate me! Here are a few things it they need clearing up:**

 **1\. Don't kill me for the ending. He dies in the comics and it just felt right to kill Steve off. Don't get me wrong, I love Steve. He is one of my favourite Avengers, but I wanted this story to be different, so yeah...character death. :) Part of Tony's final speech was actually used in the comics, which I thought was another cool idea to incorporate. I was crying my eyes out writing it.**

 **2\. Instead of stopping this right here, I thought a sequel? And instead of doing it from Hill's perspective, I do it from Bucky's? Is that a good plan? It would also be a romance, but it would be over a long period of time and would take place after Hill has freed the prisoners. Thoughts?**

 **3\. Please review, because I only got one review on my last chapter and I worked soooo hard on this story.**

 **4\. I hope you have enjoyed reading about Hill and Cap's relationship. Wanna hear more? Check out my author's page to find out about 'The Real Steve Rogers'. It is linked in with a story called 'The Resurrection of Pietro Maximoff' and is interlinked with two other stories - The Two Assassins (Clintasha) and The Avenger's Falcon (Sam and an OC). Please follow them also.**

 **5\. Thank you! Thank you for reading and supporting my story every step of the way, you have all been amazing and i am so sad to see it end this way. Until the next time fellow fanfictioners! Don't forget to follow me as an author to get more updates!**

 **THANK YOU!**


	35. Conclusion

It has been a stressful couple of months trying to get this story done, but I have finally completed it and I am feeling over the moon about it. Here's some updates about stuff that you might be interested in.

I have four stories running at the minute that are all synced at the same time, so chapter updates will be all at the same time, running in chronological order. These stories are 'The Resurrection of Pietro Maximoff', 'The Real Steve Rogers', 'The Two Assassins' and 'The Avenger's Falcon'. If you liked my story, then please go ahead and check these out. Thank you :)

I also have some M rated stuff that will be uploaded soon, so please follow my author's page to get updates.

You have been an amazing set of readers and please give a final review of what you've thought of the whole thing, even if you haven't been reviewing for each chapter anyway. Thank you

 **Will Steve return? Hmm...what an interesting question :)**


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